In My Mailbox (August 1, 2010)

Hey how are ya?

Ooooh, girl, that shirt be lookin' cute on you. Did you get yo' weave did? I can tell. ;)

Anyways, you know what it is. It's In My Mailbox time! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

For Review:

The Iron King & The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa (Thanks, so much to Natashya! Julie actually lives in the same city as me, so I plan on meeting her at a signing soon.)

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto (Thanks to Ksenia over at Macmillan Publishing!! The cover for this one is bea-utiful. And my friend Jami over at YA Addict loved this book, so I'm excited.)

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith (Thanks again to Ksenia!! It's a dystopian, ooooooh.)

Matched by Ally Condie (Omg, I have wanted this one foreverrrrrr. I didn't even know it was coming! I love ya, Penguin. Love ya. Like, XOXO and everything. *Everything* LOL, I'm naughty. I guess that's why they call this place "The Naughty Book Kitties")

Rich and Mad by William Nicholson (Thanks, Egmont!)

Virgin Territory by James Lecesne (Thanks again, Egmont! *Mwah, love ya.)

Ondine by Ebony McKenna (Thanks to Ebony and her UK publisher! I'm on a blog tour for this, so expect a review/guest post/giveaway later this August.)

So what did you get?

You Are The Only Exception

     Every once in a while I see a book that I have an urge to read. A book that’s nothing like the genres I enjoy and typically go for—YA, paranormal, summer teen romance. So, this is a new feature inspired by the song "You Are The Only Exception" from Paramore!! Yes, I love Ellen. You can tell. ;)

       So, most of you already know, but if you don’t, I am gay. Yupp, gay fifteen-year-old over hereeeee. And one of my favorite, most inspirational, most hope-giving people in the world is Ellen DeGeneres. And I watch her show every day. Yesterday, she had a country singer, Chely Wright, on her show. Yes, Chely is a lesbian, and yes, she spoke about her coming-out process and her new memoir, LIKE ME. Chely said something that really touched me during the interview. “As a teen, I searched all of my hometown of Kansas, and I couldn’t find anyone that was like me.” That feeling, feeling alien in your own home, it’s a terrible, terrible feeling. And while I want to feel happy that I don’t feel like an alien anymore, I can’t help feeling sad that there are teenagers—and some adults—that feel as though there’s no one like them. Which is why I have a passion for LGBT lit, as well  as YA. I think we can all, as readers of novels and books, can take something away from reading an LGBT book.



Summary from Amazon:
Chely Wright, singer, songwriter, country music star, writes in this moving, telling memoir about her life and her career; about growing up in America’s heartland, the youngest of three children; about barely remembering a time when she didn’t know she was different.
She writes about her parents, putting down roots in their twenties in the farming town of Wellsville, Kansas, Old Glory flying atop the poles on the town’s manicured lawns, and being raised to believe that hard work, honesty, and determination would take her far.
She writes of making up her mind at a young age to become a country music star, knowing then that her feelings and crushes on girls were “sinful” and hoping and praying that she would somehow be “fixed.” (“Dear God, please don’t let me be gay. I promise not to lie. I promise not to steal. I promise to always believe in you . . . Please take it away.”)
We see her, high school homecoming queen, heading out on her own at seventeen and landing a job as a featured vocalist on the Ozark Jubilee (the show that started Brenda Lee, Red Foley, and Porter Wagoner), being cast in Country Music U.S.A., doing four live shows a day, and—after only a few months in Nashville—her dream coming true, performing on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry . . .
She describes writing and singing her own songs for producers who’d discovered and recorded the likes of Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, and Toby Keith, who heard in her music something special and signed her to a record contract, releasing her first album and sending her out on the road on her first bus tour . . . She writes of sacrificing all for a shot at success that would come a couple of years later with her first hit single, “Shut Up And Drive” . . . her songs (from her fourth album, Single White Female) climbing the Billboard chart for twenty-nine weeks, hitting the #1 spot . . . 
She writes about the friends she made along the way—Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, and others—writing songs, recording and touring together, some of the friendships developing into romantic attachments that did not end happily . . . Keeping the truth of who she was clutched deep inside, trying to ignore it in a world she longed to be a part of—and now was—a world in which country music stars had never been, could not be, openly gay . . .
She writes of the very real prospect of losing everything she’d worked so hard to create . . . doing her best to have a real life—her best not good enough . . .
And in the face of everything she did to keep herself afloat, she writes about how the vortex of success and hiding who she was took its toll: her life, a tangled mess she didn’t see coming, didn’t want to; and, finally, finding the guts to untangle herself from the image of the country music star she’d become, an image steeped in long-standing ideals and notions about who—and what—a country artist is, and what their fans expect them to be . . .
Like Me is fearless, inspiring, true.

"I am a songwriter,” she writes. “I am a singer of my songs—and I have a story to tell. As I’ve traveled this path that has delivered me to where I am today, my monument of thanks, paying honor to G

od, remains. I will do all I can with what I have been given . . .”

Guest Post: Emma Michaels, Author Of The Thirteenth Chime

Hey everyone! Brent here at The Naughty Book Kitties has decided to let me barrow you all for a post!

*laughs manically*

Alright, alright. Hey, I am Emma Michaels, debut author of The Thirteenth Chime and book blogger over at http://emmamichaels.blogspot.com/. Some of the questions I am asked,  most often have to do with being a book blogger turned author. I have loved to both read and write ever since the first time I read Tamora Pierce’s In the Hand of the Goddess. I fell in love with Fantasy after that novel and so started to expand on that interest and read more fantasy novels and slowly branch out to paranormal, urban fantasy and other genres. So naturally, when I started writing it was paranormal/ urban fantasy.

There are many reasons that I started blogging, mainly wanting to get in touch with other Young Adult readers and bloggers so that I could find new books I might love but also simply so that I could get in touch with them and start to get to know what they enjoy and if novels helped them as much as they have helped me throughout my life. While I had already started writing at that point, it started fueling my projects forward, seeing that novels actually had helped so many people the way that they had helped me. It started to mean something more than just writing, it started to mean creating a brand new world that people could come to and escape inside of, creating characters that people could feel with, love with and cry with.

More than that, it was a way that I could help people while also doing something that I love. Now more than ever I realize how much reading and writing can help but also how much I can help. Even sending out my swag (bookmarks, postcards, etc.) in exchange for support can brighten someone’s day. So while many authors have many different reasons that they write, I have lots of them and you all are one of them. I hope you will check out my debut novel, The Thirteenth Chime, which is set for release on Friday the 13th thus August! Thanks for reading and here  is a small teaser:

 The Thirteenth Chime

by Emma Michaels

A Sense Of Truth Novel

No one knew of its existence until it was removed from the attic upstairs.

In a beautiful house that overlooks the sea, an antique clock has the power to change the course of their lives.

The power the clock resonates will not only force Destiny and ex-boyfriend David on a journey into the depths of one man's mind long dead, but into the mind of a man filled with hatred and bent on revenge.

With the only clues to the nature of the clock having disappeared into the sea, Destiny and David must retrace the steps the man had taken into the darkness, before they fall prey to the trap he had set in motion over half a century ago.

Hatred never dies.

Thanks to everyone reading and to Brent for letting me barrow his blog! Hope you all will enjoy The Thirteenth Chime.

I Just Joined Giveaway Scout! . . . And Upped My Fakeness

So, I just stumbled across this amazing site where your giveaways and contests get promoted!! It’s required that I post about it, LOL, so here it goes:

http://www.giveawayscout.com/

It’s great (ughh, requirements kill me) so go check it out (do I sound fake enough, yet?) Totally enter your blog, or just go sign up for some contests! (Major fake smiling going on as I write this.)

And now…

Teaser Tuesday: Firelight by Sophie Jordan!

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Title: Firelight

Author: Sophie Jordan

Published: September 7, 2010

Teaser:

He feels it, too. His eyes widen. A lovely hazel. Green with flecks of brown and gold. The colors I love. The colors of the earth. That gaze drifts over the wet snarls of my hair brushing the rock floor.  I catch myself wishing he could see the girl within the dragon.

--From page 18 of FIRELIGHT

Giveaway! And yes, I’m getting emotional, here.

     If you haven’t noticed, June and July have been a really important months to me and the blog. I’ve sporadically posted about a subject very important to me—LGBT literature. I’ve had author interviews, guest posts, with wonderful LGBT lit reviews. And I’m so delighted to have the privilege of having a blog and being open—and sharing it with you guys! I love love love al the fabulous people I’ve met through blogging. Writers and readers alike! I’m so happy to have this contest… a GAY contest. So, if you don’t like gay books, there’s really no point in finishing reading this post. Because yes, I’m giving away a sh*t load of gay books! And they’re signed!

A signed copy of The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
A signed copy of Thinking Straight by Robin Reardon

A signed copy of Grl2Grl by Julie Anne Peters
A signed copy of Rage by Julie Anne Peters
 
A signed copy of Totally Joe by James Howe
TWO signed copies of Tricks by Ellen Hopkins


If you have any problems, you are one stupid-ass bitch. LOL, just kidding. You can always just fill the form out HERE.

Two winners will be chosen. The first winner will receive the signed copy of The Vast Fields of Ordinary along with the signed copy of Grl2Grl, along with a signed copy of Tricks. The second winner will receive the signed copy of Thinking Straight along with the signed copy of Rage, along with a signed copy of Tricks, along with the signed copy of Totally Joe and a button. Good luck, my loves!

And if you want proof that they’re signed…

IMM + Other News

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme  hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.


For Review:

The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper (Thanks to Suzanne and the kind publicity team at Harper!)

Diana Comet by Sandra McDonald (Thanks to my friend, Steve. BTW, he’s Holly Black’s gay best friend. Cool, right?)

White Cat by Holly Black (I actually bought this book last week, but Nicole from S&S had also sent me  a copy. LOL. Thanks Nicole!)

Other news:
Okay, so first of all, I should probably confirm your assumptions. Yes, The Naughty Book Kitties is now singularly run by me. My good friend, Emily, used to help me and write reviews and such, and she was the one who also had the idea to start this blog, but she just resigned. She really hasn’t posted since May, so it’s cool. Emily and I still remain friends. She just doesn’t think she can stay committed to a blog, which is fine. But watch out, I may have her review a couple books for me every now and then. ;)
Let’s say goodbye to Emily! It was fun while it lasted…

Love you, Em!

Book Review: Glimpse!

Released: June 22, 2010

Title: Glimpse

Author: Carol Lynch Williams

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Hardcover: 496 pages

From Booklist:
Sisters Hope and Lizzie are also best friends; Lizzie, the elder sibling, has looked after Hope since she was an infant. When Lizzie suddenly becomes suicidal, though, Hope is bewildered, but she gradually realizes that she may have some insight into the roots of Lizzie's depression. Glimpses into her memories and her dreams unfold a story of neglect and abuse that will haunt both Hope and the reader alike. Williams tells a brutal, gripping story through the veiled language of free verse, choosing her words and Hope's memories with careful intent. Although the descriptions are not graphic, Williams leaves little doubt about Lizzie's trauma, their mother's role in her older daughter's fate, and the lack of a perfect resolution to both girls' pain. The unresolved ending is realistic, but it is hopeful, too, and it includes a tribute to caring friends and adults who struggle daily to rescue children from untenable situations.

Brent’s opinion:
     Very rarely  do I read a novel in verse. Ellen Hopkins, my idol and favorite writer, writes novels in verse, and I adore (obsess) over them. So,  whenever I read a novel in verse by a diff. writer, I’m disappointed. So you could say I was having a tough time deciding on whether to buy Glimpse. “Brent, buy the fucking book!” “Brent, don’t, you’ll be disappointed!” “Shut the fuck up, Brent." LOL. So yeah, the devil in me took over, and I BOUGHT THE MOFO!!
      Hope has always known that her mother was a prostitute. After her father’s death, her mom had to take care of the family some way, right? But, what she didn’t know was that her sister somehow got involved in  this terrifying world of sex, drugs, and money.  And when her sister is sent to a mental hospital after trying to kill herself, Hope starts to put together pieces of the puzzle. The puzzle of her life that once was.
        Hope was a very realistic character. I liked her, a lot. She didn’t whine and complain, and she didn’t gloss things over. She wasn’t a brat, nor a bitch. Hope was the kind of girl that saw the truth, faced it, looked it in the eyes, and said, “Okay.” Like, she wasn’t afraid to realize reality. Which I think is an important trait for a character in a novel such as this to have.  It’s sort-of a cliché to have the child protagonist to have an imaginary bff,  and to believe in fairies, and to just  avoid the fact that her mother’s a prostitute. I mean, that cliché is so unrealistic and expected. I’m glad Carol Lynch Williams had the balls to break into this genre, if you will, and say, “No. Teens aren’t dumb bitches. They know what’s happenin’.” It’s what needs to be done, and I’m so glad when I see it in new voices.
      The ending to Glimpse was pretty predictable. But not in a necessarily bad way.  Like, we, as readers, see what’s coming way ahead of time. And even then we are still shocked by the realization. Just like an Ellen Hopkins’ novel. We see what’s happening in the works, and yet we’re still moved by it. It’s pretty interesting the way authors make it work… It’s the kind of thing that can either make your novel, or break it. In Glimpse’s case, it definitely made it.
      To get to the point: I loved Glimpse. I was sooooooooooo not disappointed. Honestly? The writing still doesn’t even compare to Ellen Hopkins, but it comes pretty damn close.  Glimpse was original in the way that it had a southern-summer-esque feel to it. Like, Grandma’s back porch and a cup of sweet tea. You feel me? Carol Lynch Williams tells such a powerful story in just a few words a page.  This was a quick read, but it definitely wasn’t light. It made me think even deeper about how loss can take a person to extremes, and how sometimes family means more than sharing the same blood.

Cover: Five Stars! I love it, so much. It represents the book well.
Characters: Four Stars!
Plot:  Three Stars!
Ending: Four Stars!
Originality: Four Stars!

A Non-Review Of One Kick-Ass Book

Hi, how are you today? You good? Oooh,  girl, I love that shirt. And yo’ weave be lookin’ cute today. ;)

Anyways, today I want to talk about a book I recently read, The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd. There's an immense amount of themes and lessons in The Vast Fields. We can all learn a thing or two from Nick Burd. I think that so many people have reviewed it, that there’s really nothing I can say that you can’t read in  another review. And plus, if I did review it, I’d just spend 1,000+ words talking about how much I’m obsessing over it. And that’d be boring for you guys. LOL. So, I’m just gonna say read the dang thing.

Summary from GoodReads:

It’s Dade’s last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a “boyfriend” who won’t publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade’s shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away.
Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet—and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he’s gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future.

Damn. Have you seen this trailer?

I was lucky enough to read The Replacement by  Brenna Yovanoff way ahead of it’s release. And I’m so glad. This book is truly one of the most original novels I’ve read all  year. It’s steampunkish, creative, and badass. Brenna Yovanoff is a new favorite.

Anyways, it has a new trailer!! Seriously, this trailer fits the book so well. I lovelovelove it.

Despite being a supah gangsta writer, Brenna is very sweet.We frequently confess our love for hardcore rappers. Sue us. I love her just as much as I loved The Replacement!! You need to get this book when it comes out in September.

What Happened?!

Okay, so today I’m talking about a book that I’m very, very confused about. You all know the Nightworld series by L.J. Smith? Well, the third one came out in Spring 2009. It was a kickass installment, and the next one after that, Strange Fate, was announced to be released Summer 2009. Well, that whole summer, I looked for that book. In Borders, online. Nowhere was it sold. So I thought, “Hey, probably got the date wrong.” And a couple months later, a new date was set. Summer 2010. July 13th, to be exact. Well, this July I’ve been on the lookout for it, and I can’t find it!! I even looked in Simon & Schuster’s catalog!



And so now, on Amazon, it says the set release is July 26th, 2011. What the fuck? How does this release date go from 2009 to 2011?

I mean, I uderstand that books take a long time. I copletely get that. But really? That's like saying, "Okay, the book is ready to be printed and put on the shelves in a month. Oh, wait, how about we wait another ten years."

So, does anyone know when this book is foreal coming out? I’ve waited FOREVERRRRRR. And the release date changes constantly.

Xoxo

Brent

Supah Fly Contest, My Gangsta’s

 Trance

A novel written by Linda Gerber. Set to be released October 14, 2010..

Summary:

Ashlyn Greenfield has always known when bad things are going to happen. Each time that familiar tingling at the back of her neck begins, she knows whatÕs to comeÑa trance. SheÕs pulled in, blindsided, an unwilling witness to a horrible upcoming event. But sheÕs never been able to stop itÑnot even when the vision was of her motherÕs fatal car accident. When soulful Jake enters AshlynÕs life, she begins having trances about another car accident. And as her trances escalate, one thing becomes clear: itÕs up to her to save Jake from near-certain death.

The rules, straight from Lauren over at http://shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com/:

So rules (U.S. Only I'm Afraid)
 
1. Pre-Order Trance by Linda Gerber, out this October.

2. Send your "receipt" to the following email address: lauren51990 AT aol DOT com

3. Along with your proof of pre-order, you must send me what you want off the prize list below.

--You will find this on many blogs, but THIS post is the Master Prize List. The prizes will start disappearing, so make sure you check here to see what is left. If you ask for something and it happens to be gone already, I will let you know and you can get another prize.

4. This giveaway will end on August 31 or once all the prizes are gone.

5. Okay, it's not a rule...but it would be great if you would check out the various blogs who made this all possible and follow the ones you like best!

Don't wait long. This is a fun, new YA paranormal novel from an author you already know and should love, so if you're going to buy it anyway...why not now when you could get a two-for-one deal, huh? And the book is super cheap as well. No hardcover, annoying costs here!

Preorder Trance and send your receipt and prize choice to: lauren51990@aol.com

Giveaway ends on  August 31, 2010, or when all prizes are gone.

The prizes! And damn, these are some pretty “Fuck yeah!” prizes:

1.      Eleni: finished copy of The Alpha Bet by Stephanie Hale and 5 Secret Society tattoos by Tom Dolby  http://lafemmereaders.blogspot.com/
2.      Tina: Hourglass by Claudia Gray http://www.fantasticbookreview.blogspot.com/
3.     James: Prize Pack 1- Just One Wish by Janette Rallison, Triple Shot Bettys in Love by Jody Gehrman, Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag
www.bookchicclub.blogspot.com
4.     James: Prize Pack 2- Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Allison Goodman, Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped by Yxta Maya Murray, You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay
http://www.bookchicclub.com/
5.      Lauren: ARC of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
http://www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com/
6.      Sammi: 2 packs of soft lips (2 tubes in each)
http://www.wordsearchpuzzledreams.com/
7.      Jessica: $10 gift card to Barnes N Noble
http://www.jessicascoupons.com/
8.      Kelsey: Swag Pack
http://thebookscout.blogspot.com/
9.      Jane: $25 gift card to Amazon
http://janestoryblog.blogspot.com/
10.  Candace: Package of swag from various authors
http://candacesreadingblog.blogspot.com/
11.  Brent: ARC of Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin http://naughtybookkitties.blogspot.com/
12.  Kit: ARC of The Gift By: James Pattersonhttp://www.readingteen.net/
13.  Kit: signed copy of Raised By Wolves By: Jennifer Lynn Barneshttp://www.readingteen.net
14.  Jessica: Paperback copy of Linger (from The Book Depository)http://totalbookaholic.blogspot.com/
15.  Jessica: The Body Finder signed bookmark & 2 The Body Finder stickershttp://totalbookaholic.blogspot.com/
16.  Jessica: Forgive my Fins bookmark & Forgive my Fins tattoohttp://totalbookaholic.blogspot.com/
17.  Alicia: signed hardcover of Taken By Storm by Angela Morrisonhttp://www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com

So, go preorder Trance, and sign yo’ ass up!!

Teaser Tuesday!

*Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B over at Should Be Reading*


Title: The Vast Fields of Ordinary

Author: Nick Burd

Published: May 14, 2009



He glanced over his shoulder and let out a laugh. I suddenly felt so sad for him. I wasn’t sure about his past, who he was, but right there is when I first sensed the sadness of Alex Kincaid. I felt the vacuum in him. It was the same as the one in me. It wanted, but it didn’t know what it wanted, so it pulled at everything.
--From page 159

Book Review: Becoming Chloe!

Title: Becoming Chloe
Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Publisher: KNOPF
Paperback: 224 Pages

Author Website

Description:
Jordy, homeless, gay, and abused, finds a kindred spirit when he rescues fragile, childlike Chloe from a brutal rape near the abandoned building where they both live. Thus begins their intensely codependent friendship. When Jordy all but commits murder to protect Chloe, it only reinforces in his mind that they have no option but to leave New York City for their safety and sanity. And here, at the halfway mark, the novel takes a left turn: the teens hightail it out of the city in a beat-up pickup truck to discover America and possibly new lives. The arresting and gut-wrenching opening scene promises a gritty urban tale of survival, and despite some choppy, repetitive dialogue, Hyde makes the first half of the book succeed. But the cross-country trek quickly loses momentum with a wistful, near-philosophical shift in tone. And while Hyde's jerky, streamlined style reinforces the teens' pain, it doesn't complement their cross-country search for beauty and trust in the novel's second half. The results feel rushed and uneven, almost as if two separate narratives were merged to create this single slim volume.

Brent’s opinion of the novel:
     Becoming Chloe... hmm. I really don't know how to describe my feelings for it. Not that that's a bad thing... when I'm speechless like this, it definitely means the book was awesome. :)
     Jordy and Chloe meet in an alley. A dirty, nasty, abandoned ally. Jordy is homeless, looking for a place to sleep, when he stumbles upon Chloe, who seems to be getting raped. After scaring the men who're raping Chloe off, Jordy questions her. Well, are you okay? he asks. She replies all nonchalantly. Of course I'm fine.
     So, she seems unaffected by the rape... Jordy soon see's that Chloe is unaffected by things. Rape, included. Mmm, so she has a past on her. As does Jordy. Jordy is gay. And as you know, being gay can cause some people to do some shit to you. Mean shit.
     When Jordy goes to find a place to stay, he finds like, an abandoned apartment type thing. And then he discovers that Chloe lives there, as welll.
     The two form a bond. It's an interesting bond.... I'm still confused as to what they bonded over. Maybe it's the fact that they were both homeless. Maybe it's the fact that they were both alone, and they subconsciously wanted someone to love (and be loved back). Or maybe it's that they both had seen so many terrible, ugly things that they bonded over the same mentality. Whichever way, they definitely had an interesting gay man/straight woman friendship. I think they identify a piece of themselves in each other. They definitely love each other. A lot. And you can tell Jordy would do anything for Chloe.
       To support both himself and Chloe, Jordy prostitutes himself off to other men. Whom he has no emotional connection to, whatsoever. Sad, right?
       Jordy and Chloe cannot handle the City (which is where they live, by the way). Too many ugly things. And too much danger. Chloe starts to question what life has to offer her, and if she should continue living it. So, they both set off to travel the US, in search of beautiful things. Chloe is convinced there is nothing beautiful... she's just been through too much to see an object in it's lightest. Jordy, however, is trying to convince Chloe that yes, while there is an abundance of ugly things, the world is actually a beautiful place. What does he convince her with? A list. Chloe has a list. One column: beautiful things. Another column: ugly things. With actions and sights such as rainbows and kind actions and murder listed.
       The characters in Becoming Chloe are pretty damn complex. Like, Jordy isn't your typical gay dude... in literature, that is. And Chloe? She's all kinds of interesting. I don't wanna say she's weird... but that's the only word to describe it. I guess that's because of how she grew up, what she grew up with, and how her life has been. Which you can't blame her for. I'd say she has pessimistic views on life... but that's because of lack of experience. Which, of course, is another reason Jordy  takes her on a beauty tour. LOL. Jordy's desperation to save Chloe, it radiates off the pages. There's so much passion. And the passion is that of which can be interpreted as sad or hopeful. Tragic or good. Ill-fated or successful. I loved it.
     Becoming Chloe taught me one thing. You can't expect the world to be nice to you. You can't expect to see fucking rainbows and ponies when you look out your window. You have to make the world be nice to you. You have to find beauty. You're not entitled to it, and unless you look, you sure as hell won't find it.


Cover: Five Stars! It fits the book so well.
Characters: Are you kidding me? FIVEFIVEFIVE Stars!
Plot: Four Stars! Solid. ;)
Ending: Four Stars!
Originality: Five Stars!

In My Mailbox (July 18, 2010)

Hi boo boo,

How you doing? Good?

Anyways, it’s time for In My Mailbox. Which is hosted over at The Story Siren.



Lucky, Tempted, and Classic by Cecily Von Ziegesar (Thanks to the interns over at Little Brown! Now, go get that coffee, ladies. LOL. Just kidding.)

Jumpstart the World, and Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Thanks to Catherine!! She’s such a sweet lady and helluva writer.)

The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd (Thanks to Nick!!) Okay, so this one is going to be given away in a contest I’m having here soon. I’m also reading it because here soon I’ma be interviewing Nick for LambdaLiterary.com! 

Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens (Jenn sent this, as a gift for my birthday. She’s so sweet.)

That’s all! What did you get?

Xoxo

Brent

And Dah Winnah Be Is…

The winner of my CLOCKOWRK ANGEL  ARC, touched by moi, the queer famous, is…

Amelia V.


Yay, Amelia! I have already e-mailed her…


Anyways, ya sad you didn’t win? Well, watch out. I have TWO more contests coming up… With tons of signed books!! *Cough Ellen Hopkins, Nick Burd, Julie Anne Peters, Kieran  Scott*

Why I Love Ellen Hopkins

I don’t have many authors that I pretty much worship and idolize. I mean, yeah, I have favorites, but none of them are actually role models and hope-givers.

But that is not true for one writer, Ellen Hopkins.  I remember being in the sixth grade, and reading shitty library books. You know, Twilight and and all that jazz. (BTW, I’m not bashing Twilight. I actually am a big fan, so pop off my  dang jock.) But then,  I saw a big, thick novel on the “just bought” shelf. The cover was splashed with red,  and the title was a title that would make you think “Now what is that about?”  Of course I yanked the book open!! And what I saw was some fucking beauty! It was a poem about attempting to commit suicide; about the natural impulse to end pain. And how when you tip that pill bottle, or pull that trigger, your life is forever changed.

I thought, “Omg, she wrote like a prologue-poem!!” But noooooo, I soon, at fifty pages in, realized that the whole book was a poem. It was the first novel in verse I had ever  read.

And then, as I became more and more interested in the book, titled Impulse, I came to the part where the reader finds out that one of the main characters is gay. So, then I was pretty much in love. I mean, not only was the writing haunting and killer, but the characters were so damn raw and truthful.  I’m always asked, “What book got you into reading?” And I can seriously say “OMG that fucking masterpiece shit that Ellen Hopkins writes!”

The whole reason I read is to feel a  connection to the characters. And whenever I read an Ellen Hopkins’ novel, I’m always reminded of why I love reading.

Ellen is my idol. Seriously, my Jesus. LOL. I mean, if you follow her on Facebook anf Twitter, and read her books, you’ll see why. She recently wrote an essay on Facebook about why she supports gay rights. It made me cry. I really, really think everyone should go read it! Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/notes/ellen-hopkins/why-i-support-gay/472241759675


It’s the writers and people like Ellen who give me hope that one day gay people will be looked at as equal. I’m so grateful to live in 2010, where writers are freely able to tackle such topics.





Ellen’s life-changing books. You seriously need to check these out.

Clockwork Angel ARC Giveaway!

Hi, loves,

So... you all saw it coming! I'm giving away my ARC  of Clockwork Angel! The amazing series debut written by Oprah herself, Cassandra Clare. Now, I KNOW you don't want to wait until August 31st to get this book.... so sign up to win!! You'll get to read it like a month-and-a-half early! The winner will be announced this Friday!

Blogger Interview: Nikola’s Book Blog!

Hi, you guys,

You good, boo boo? Good. ;)

 


So today we have Nikola, from Nikola's Book Blog. I'm so glad to be interviewing Nikola! I only stumbled across his blog a few days ago, and he's already one of new faves. ;) He reviews all types of books. YA; Literary; Fiction; Memoirs; all that fabulousness.

Explain your blog and your mission with writing a blog. (Genres you review, how often you post, what got you into blogging.)

When I first made my book blog, I didn't know much about blogging about books, reviews, giveaways, etc. I guess I had accidentally stumbled upon a book blog or two and decided I should make one. When it comes to reviewing, I mostly review literary fiction, though my reading interests are quite diverse. I especially like chick lit, because I feel it is an often overlooked genre that is getting a bad reputation simply because there so many books that fall in it. I try to post as often as possible and it doesn't always work out.

What's your favorite part of blogging?

There's two or three things. First, I love the friendships I've started to develop with other book bloggers. Second, I love promoting authors. It's so hard to publish a book, and I think book bloggers should make it their business reviewing even self-published books, as well as e-books. Authors are wonderful people, and I love it when they contact me for a review, or when they thank me for it.

What's your least favorite?

My least favorite thing... Sometimes I feel like it's a chore. You know, there are times when you can't exactly read (maybe you're just not in the mood), but then you lose your readers and you feel guilty, etc. It's a stupid answer, I know, but I feel like I love most aspects of book blogging.

Do you participate in any memes or features?

Yes, I do, and although I hate it when people overdo it, I love taking part in them. Giving and receiving awards is always fun, Dewey's Readathon is amazing, Teaser Tuesdays, In My Mailbox, Wishlist Wednesdays... I don't necessarily do all of these every week, but it's great to sometimes freshen up. The only challenge I'm taking part in at the moment is the GLBT challenge.

What makes your blog and your reviews individual?

I'm not sure if it is all that individual, but I do try and mix up the genres of the books I'm reviewing. I especially like to review literary fiction as much as possible, and not many bloggers do that.

I notice that your reviews can get pretty lengthy. Do you feel as though you have an obligation to review books in-depth, or do you simply just get caught up in writing that it turns out to be long? LOL.

I definitely get caught up. It depends on the book, really. I like to always at least say what it is about and my personal experience with the book, but sometimes the book touches upon so many different themes, I feel I must address at least a few of them.

Who's your blog's target audience? Adults? Teens? Republicans?

I don't want my blog to have a target audience. I feel like what I write about is 85% universal. It's true that I would always choose erotica over Christian fiction, but that doesn't mean that Christians can't find anything to read about on my blog, right?

And your favorite book is: _____

As the title of my blog says, any one of Michael Cunningham's four novels - The Hours, A Home at the End of the World, Specimen Days and Flesh and Blood.

One book you read that you absolutely hated: _____

That's a hard question. I really didn't like "Alec Thrace and the Lost Medallion". Although I always tend to find at least something in a book that I can like, so that it doesn't turn out a complete disaster.

You're in a bookstore, and you can only buy one book. What do you buy?

Right now, it would be something off my wish list - probably Rupert Everett's autobiography.

Do you listen to music while you read? If so, what kind?

Very rarely. And if I do, then it must be something I don't know, so that the lyrics don't get mixed up with the words from the book. I find mellow music the best for reading, and I often choose Idina Menzel, Rufus Wainwright or Madonna's "Bedtime Stories" album as my reading soundtrack.

What's your most awkward reading habit? Wait, do you even have one?

Hmm. I always tidy my room before reading in it. I can't read in a messy room, it's just not the same. Also, I love reading in the bathtub. Sexy, huh?

VERY sexy. LOL.

What's your favorite show/movie?

I have a lot of both. My favorite shows include Queer as Folk (total fanboy), Desperate Housewives (go Lynette!), Glee, Sex and the City, Brothers and Sisters, ALIAS, etc. As for movies, my favorite movie is RENT. Besides that one, if you give me a musical on DVD for my birthday, I'll be happy. My other favorite movies include Amelie, The Piano, Pride & Prejudice, Love and Other Disasters, etc.

What's your favorite blog? Who's your favorite blogger? And why?

That's really hard. I love all the bloggers, simply because they all write according to themselves and it's really fun to read. However, one blogger whose reviews I've always found helpful and one of the few bloggers I've actually gotten to know is Amanda from zenleaf.blogspot.com One thing I love about her is that she is a straight woman who promotes GLBT literature.

Got any hobbies besides reading?

Oh yeah. I write a column (in Serbian), where I write theatre and movie reviews. I go to the theater a lot, I play tennis from time to time and go out a lot. I like to think of myself as a bonvivant.

Anything else?

I'd just like to thank you for featuring me on your fabulous blog. Seriously, everybody should follow Brent!

Make sure you guys visit Nikola at http://cunninghamfan.blogspot.com/!

Book Review: Clockwork Angel!

Released: August 31, 2010

Title: Clockwork Angel

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McEldery

Hardcover: 496 pages

From Amazon:
Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still. When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.  Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.  Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Brent’s opinion of the novel:
     I feel as though I don’t even have to speak. LOL. I mean, we all know Cassandra Clare is the writing Oprah, and that whatever she writes is a masterpiece. She has that God-given gift that is unable to be taught. Cassandra can take a group of characters, thrown in some killer back-story, let the characters fall into a love triangle, and most of all, make her readers squirm. She did it in The Mortal Instruments series, which will forever be a favorite of mine, and now she did it again in the debut to The Infernal Devices, Clockwork Angel.
     When Tessa loses all she cares about in her hometown of New York City, she sets off to London, in search of her brother, Nate.  When she arrives in London, a mysterious group of people, members of The Pandemonium Club, pick her up, claiming that they are friends of her brother. Girl, you be knowin’ that they is a lie. Anyways, she soon does find out that they are lying. Tessa then spends six weeks, held against her will, at The Pandemonium Club’s headquarters.Where she is taught to hone her supposed “gift.” The gift of shape-shifting. And she is told that she doesn’t cooperate, her brother will die. Harsh, right? Shoooot, girl, you already know that if that was me we would be gettin’ hostile up in there.
      So then an uber sexy dude comes to save her!! Okay, that was a minor spoiler. But it’s not like I ruined the book for you! It say’s it in the product description! Anyways, the uber sexy dude saves her. After a little probing, she finds that his name is Will, and that he is among a league of warrior fighter sexy people who kill demons. The Shadowhunters. I know, those of you who have read The Mortal Instruments series, *insert loud “Fuck yeah, fuck yeah! Sexy warrior fighter people!” here*. 
      I’ma leave it at that, because I soooooo don’t want to ruin the book for you. LOL.  And now I will talk about the smexilicous characters, and how they are nearly as hot as Jace, our beloved center-of-affection from The Mortal Instruments.
     Tessa is foreal a bad-ass character. I mean, she may not be able to fight, and she may be a sweet lil’ girl, but if you get all up in her Kool Aid she will cut you. At first, I thought “Damn, Tessa is going to be un-original and exactly like Clary.” But she was so totally not. I saw something in Tessa that I had not seen anywhere else: spunk. While  Clary is a badass mother fucker that don’t take no shit from nobody, she didn’t have the … sassiness that Tessa had. Tessa was very classy and well mannered… but if you pissed her off… shoot girl, yo’ ass is gettin’ beat.
        Omigod, girls.  You are gonna die when you meet the boys in this one. Will. Is. Sexy. Jem. Is. Sweet. Like, they are both undeniably swoon-worthy!! I’ma be honest: I would choose Jace over any of these boys any day. But they do rank pretty high up.  Will is a rebel, with a super-exclusive secret and tendency to push away the one’s he loves. And then there’s Jem, the hot asian! Jem has a terrible addiction and a frustrating family past. Damn, Cassie Clare can make ya wanna pull your hair out, sometimes. ;)
      And the villain! I’ma tell you: Cassie’s story-telling is very, very manipulative. She can make you FALL IN LOVE with a character, and then reveal that that character is a conniving bitch. Cassie takes the reader through many loop-holes, and then you find out all that you thought was true was really completely wrongwrongwrong. Ah, we love her writing, don’t we?  
      Just a side-note: Clockwork Angel has Magnus Bane! Yes, Magnus! He’s in here! I feel so blessed to live in 2010, where authors freely incorporate LGBT characters into their stories. It means so much to me to read a novel where gay characters are cast among a group of diverse people. Cassandra has hit international bestselling lists, and I know that her inclusion of these gays characters has opened a lot of minds. I know for a fact that somewhere out there someone has read a Cassandra Clare novel and said, “Hey, there are gay people in these books, and they’re exactly like me. They feel just like me; they are people. Just. Like. Me. They’re normal.” I know someone has  said that. It touches me sooooo much that Cassandra felt the need to include gay people in her books. She has said to me and my fellow LGBT teens “Fuck yeah, you’re normal. There isn’t anything wrong with you.” I am so damn glad that Cassandra’s message has gotten across. And I’m so damn glad she even decided to send the message through her books.

Cover: Are you kidding me? Five billion stars! It’s Will on the cover, btw.

Characters: Five fucking million stars!

Plot: Five trillion stars!

Ending: Fifty kajillion stars! Another cliffhanger!

Originality: Twenty seven thousand stars!

Writing: Do you even have to ask? She’s  Oprah with creativity!

FTC: Received for free from Simon & Schuster publicity department

In My Mailbox (July Some Shit 2010)

Hi there,

Yes, I do not know the date.  That’s why I referred to today as “July Some Shit 2010."

So, In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi, the blogging Oprah, over at The Story Siren.


For review:

Clockwork Angel by Cassie Clare (Nicole from Simon & Schuster, I freaking love you!)

Firelight by Sophie Jordan (Thanks, Melissa from HarperTeen!)

The Trust by Tom Dolby (Thanks, Tom & Melissa!)

Banshee by Hayden Thorne (Thanks, Hayden!)

Icarus in Flight by Hayden Thorne (Thanks again, Hayden!)

She’s So Dead To Us by Kieran Scott—This one is signed and for a contest! (Thanks, Kieran!)

Bought:

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams (It’s written in verse!)

BTW, how would you all like for me to have a Clockwork Angel contest? I think I'ma do it! Just because I love you. ;)

Xoxo

Brent

It's About To Be... A What?! Character Fight!

     So... this idea has been with me a long time. I'm starting a new feature! I'm going to take two characters from two different books, and have them have a bitch-fit. So, it's like that Jerry Springer shit we all be watchin'! Also, it's gonna get very ghetto and hostile up in here, so you bettah watch out! Everyone's gonna vote on who they think would win...

Today we have...

Kramisha from the House of Night series (She came into HoN in Hunted) by P.C. & Kristin Cast

Noelle from the Private series by Kate Brian



Leave a comment! Will Kramisha fuck a bitch, Noelle, up? Will Noelle pay Kramisha twenty-million dollars to shut the fuck up?

Book Review: Keeper!

Released: May 18, 2010

Title: Keeper
Author: Kathi Appelt
Publisher: Atheneum
Hardcover: 416 pages

Visit the Author Website

From Amazon:
To ten-year-old Keeper, this moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong...and so much has gone wrong. But she knows who can make things right again: Meggie Marie, her mermaid mother who swam away when Keeper was just three. A blue moon calls the mermaids to gather at the sandbar, and that's exactly where she is headed -- in a small boat, in the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and a seagull named Captain.  When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, panic sets in, and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves. Maybe the blue moon isn't magic and maybe the sandbar won't sparkle with mermaids and maybe -- Oh, no..."Maybe" is just too difficult to bear. Kathi Appelt follows up to her New York Times bestseller, The Underneath, with a tale that will pull right at your very core -- stronger than moon currents -- capturing the crash and echo of the waves and the dark magic of the ocean.

Brent’s opinion of the novel:
     Now, usually, I only read YA. But every once-in-a-while, I love getting lost in a Middle Grade story. I love reading the about the innocent characters, and all the mysticism; the epicness, I guess. I love re-visiting the genre I grew up reading… It’s just, comforting to read a Middle Grade. And so I thought I’d rekindle my love for the genre by reading Keeper. I’d heard great things about Kathi Appelt, so I had high expectations for Keeper.
     Keeper is titled after the main character, Keeper. Keeper (the character) has grown up on the Texan coast, with her “family”. A young woman, not her mother, and a mentally-deteriorating older man. Keeper has grown up with strong beliefs in mermaids, and so when, one day, she has a really bad day, she decides to set off into the sea in search of her mother. Keeper’s mother is a mermaid, and so Keeper herself is half-mermaid. Accompanying her are her dog, BD, and a seagull. Keeper is in search of a sandbar, where her mother will be, to ask her mother to fix her own wrong-doings.
      While the writing was natural and easy-flowing, the pacing was S.L.O.W. Seriously, I had to stop at some points and read other books. I mean, I really loved it and everything, but I grew bored a lot. A great deal of the novel is about character backgrounds. Which, can be a good or a bad thing. Considering what you prefer.
     Oh, and the characters. I loved the characters! Each one is unique and has an individual story to tell. I really loved that the points-of-view alternate between all of the characters… Now THAT was fun to read.
     Kathi Appelt writes so poetically. I love it!  I mean, it’s not hardcore poetic, it’s like sweet and calming.
     While Keeper wasn’t the best Middle Grade I’ve ever read, I certainly enjoyed it. Kathi Appelt has a lovely writing voice and I can’t wait to see what she publishes in the future.

Cover: Five Stars! I love the overlooking scene… it represents this novel well.
Characters: Four Stars!
Plot: Meh, Three Stars!
Originality: Five Stars!

FTC: Book received for free from Simon & Schuster publicity

Book Review: By The Time You Read This,I’ll Be Dead!

Released: January 2010

Author: Julie Anne Peters

Publisher: Hyperion

Hardcover: 224 pages

Shop IndieBound

From Amazon:
Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair, and after a string of botched suicide attempts, she’s determined to get her death right.  She starts visiting a website for “completers”— www.through-the-light .com.  While she’s on the site, Daelyn blogs about her life, uncovering a history of bullying that goes back to kindergarten.  When she’s not on the Web, Daelyn’s at her private school, where she’s known as the freak who doesn’t talk. Then, a boy named Santana begins to sit with her after school while she’s waiting to for her parents to pick her up.  Even though she’s made it clear that she wants to be left alone, Santana won’t give up.  And it’s too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life…isn’t it? National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge. 

Brent’s opinion of the novel:
     Julie Anne Peters is one of the best YA writers out there. Her fiction titles tend to appeal more to LGBT teens, but I often find the themes and messages in her novels universal. I think this is her first teen novel that isn't LGBT, so I was excited to see how Julie managed to write such a different topic: teen suicide.
     Daelyn is overweight. And her peers cannot stand it. "Fatass, pig, ugly bitch." These words are a constant for Daelyn; the School Bullies frequent her. Daelyn is told by her parents to ignore it. They are words, after all. But, can someone really let these "just words" roll off their shoulders...?
     One day, Daelyn stumbles upon a website. Through-The-Light. It's a forum where teens alike blog about their depression. They even share suicide attempts.
     So, Daelyn's set. 23 days, and then she's off. Dead. 23 days is all she has to take... and then she will kill herself. Daelyn's mind is made-up, and her decision is definite. Until she meets Santana. The funny, charming, relentless boy who seems to love being in her company.
      Julie Anne Peters has a very unque writing style... she seems to carve her novels' beauty in the actions, rather than in the descriptions. It's hard to explain. Like, she plays with verb usage, rather than adjectives and adverbs and such. I guess that makes her a no-nonsense writer!
     This novel broke my heart. Just, reading Daelyn's hatred towards the world, her frustration and anger and confusion, it'll tear you to pieces. She's really lost all hope...
       Like in any great novel, there is romance. And it's... sort of sweet. I think the relationship between Daelyn and Santana is the only happy thing in this book. I loved Santana's stubbornness. He would not let Daelyn push him away. Which is just what she needed.  He was a good mix of light to her mix of darkness.
     Honestly, I don't know if I'd recommend that you read this or not. Definitely not because lack of quality, because Julie is an amazing writer, but because this book is just so depressing. It made me feel like shit. I’m serious. If you read this, you’ll be sad and pissy for a few days. This book made me realize something: this world is a fucked up, cruel place, and yet, beauty  can be found  in the most unexpected places. I can describe it in three words: dark, painful, and beautiful.

Cover: Five Stars!
Characters: Four Stars!
Plot: Three Stars!
Originality: Five Stars!
Ending: Five Stars!

A song that reminds me of  BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I'LL BE DEAD...

Book Review: The Summer of Skinny Dipping!

Released: June 2010

Title: The Summer of Skinny Dipping
Author: Amanda Howells
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Paperback: 295 pages

From Amazon:
While spending summer vacation with her family at her cousins’ fancy beach house in the Hamptons, Mia, 16, wants to join the popular crowd. Instead, she feels like the “frumpy relative”; in fact, even her own mother is a class snob who thinks Mia isn’t slim enough to be part of the “in” set. Then she bonds with gorgeous Simon, the boy next door, and they meet secretly at night on the beach, drink vodka, and skinny-dip in the wild ocean waves. The details about what the kids wear and their conversations about what is trendy overpower the story, especially because much of the fashion will date. But many teens will appreciate this first novel for how the dialogue not only captures the dynamics of Mia’s standoffs with her peers but also reveals her surprising discoveries about adults. Mia’s first-person narrative is right on about wanting to be “cool” (“I couldn’t help wishing I was more like them”) even as she despises much of what “they” stand for. Grades 8-12.

Brent’s opinion  of the novel:
     Right before starting The  Summer of Skinny Dipping, I thought, "Damn, this better be a deep, powerful, sweet, touching romance!" I had read tons of positive reviews... saying that it wasn't the average beach read. I was excited... and a bit nervous that it wouldn't live up to all it's hype.
     After being spitefully dumped by her supposed "lover," sixteen-year-old Mia has vowed to stay single. Visiting the Hamptons' beach scene, Mia hopes for a summer that takes her mind of the boyfriend drama. But when reunited with her NYC cousins, she finds them bitchy, and moody, and  most of all, bitchy. So, that sucks. That leaves her spending lonesome days on the beach... Until she meets Simon, the artistic boy her cousins are disgusted with. Simon's witty and venturesome, not the typical Hamptons boy.
     I really, really liked the way Amanda wrote these characters. They were real, genuine teenagers. They didn't seem juvenile; they didn't seem to adult.She wrote them with equal part wit and humor. ;) Mia was a main character I could easily connect with. She's been hurt. She's been gifted. She's experienced beautiful things. She's experienced terrible things. Like us all. Mia is not glamorized, and she's not dramatized. I think Amanda Howells captures the essence of a love-struck, lonely teenager who's been hurt many, many times perfectly. I actually felt Mia's pain; I felt her joy; I felt her as a character. Her love interest, Simon, was also a delicious boy to read about. ;) He was intriguing. Amanda Howells wrote an overused character with in a fresh way... artistic, outcasted, beautiful.
     I liked the way Amanda Howells wove a lot of sub-relationships (is that a word?) into The Summer of Skinny Dipping. Like, Mia & her mother; Mia & her cousin; her cousin & her aunt; her aunt & her mother. Each was believable, and  each was equally touching.
     The Summer of Skinny dipping was well paced. Yeah, the first fifty pages were a little boring, but hey, that happens in every book. What kept me reading was Mia's pain and her relationship with Simon. It kept my eyes wide open, and my heart even wider. I don't want to compare The Summer of Skinny Dipping to anything else, because it's very unique, but I just have to say: It was better than a Sarah Dessen novel. I know, I know. That's saying a lot, but really, Amanda Howells' writing is just as great.
     With lines like "You have to live inside each beautiful or terrible thing as it happens to you, because the present may be all you've got. And if there's more ahead... Simon made me realize that" you can't say that Amanda isn't a writing Oprah. (Yeah, Oprah, Kathy Griffin said SUCK IT!) The ending left me crying... in part because of the plot, and in part because of the beauty in Amanda Howells' words.

Cover: Five Stars!
Characters: Five Stars!
Plot: Four Stars!
Ending: Four Stars!
Writing: Five Stars!
Originality: Four Stars!

FTC: Received for free from Sourcebooks Fire publicity



A song that reminded me of The Summer of Skinny Dipping...

Interview with Sassafras Lowrey, Editor of Kicked Out & Advocate for LGBTQ Youth!

Today we have Sassafras Lowrey, the editor of an anthology that touched me so deeply, Kicked Out. Sassafras is a wonderful and brave person, as well as an advocate for LGBTQ youth.

“In the U.S., 40% of homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ). Kicked Out published by Homofactus Press brings together the voices of current and former homeless LGBTQ youth and tells these forgotten stories of some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. Diverse contributors share stories of survival and abuse with poignant accounts of the sanctuary of community and the power of creating chosen families. Kicked Out highlights the nuanced perspectives of national organizations such as The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and The National Alliance Against Homelessness and regional agencies, including Sylvia’s Place, The Circus Project and Family Builders. This anthology introduced by Judy Shepard, gives voice to the voiceless and challenges the stereotypical face of homelessness. “

B: Can you briefly summarize your experience as an LGBTQ homeless teen?

S: I think the best quick summary for my experience of homelessness is in the first paragraph of my story in Kicked Out:
"If I were going to tell my story to you simply, it would go like this: when I was seventeen, I left my mother's house. She drank too much. My stepfather raped me. My mother beat me up. The police weren't much help. I moved in with friends. They kicked me out because I was gay. I lost everything Important to me." 

 B: When I read Kicked Out, I saw that the central theme was that LGBT teens are constantly outed--some cases worse than others--yet LGBT teens are the ones that have the most drive to pull through it. They're the ones who seem to turn around this negative energy into something positive. I mean, look at you. You took your experiences and, instead of moping, you set out to make sure that teens in your former position never felt worthless or alone. How important did you think it was to include this theme in Kicked Out?

S: You're absolutely right, being outed ended up being a really solid theme that comes up in different ways through Kicked Out, which hadn't been one of my initial intentions. When I went into working on the book I tried to not have any goals about themes I wanted to strongly have in the book.  I was really looking to represent as much diversity as I could in terms of the ways the epidemic plays out and the things people go through--- which looking at the finished book I feel like ended up being a successful goal. It's really in retrospect that now I can see these larger themes - like the experience of being outed that run through so many of the stories within the book. 
With regards to turning around the negative energy and channeling it into something positive- I don't really have an answer. Every day I'm inspired and in awe at the strength of the current and former homeless LGBTQ youth who have been able to survive and thrive after experiencing immense pain and trauma. I can only speak from my own experience and say it wasn't easy to get to a place where I could turn what I experienced into something positive, and it's something that absolutely wouldn't have been possible for me to do without the support of the community and chosen family that I began creating within weeks of being kicked out the last time. It was support from that community/family that was instrumental to getting me through those first very dark days/weeks/months. 

 B: Yeah, I'm constantly inspired by the great members of the LGBTQ community. Was Kicked Out an idea that had been with you for a long time, or had you one day just felt the need to start such a project?

S: Kicked Out was definitely something that has been with me for a long time. Three days after I was kicked out I went to the public library in the semi-rural area of Oregon where I lived and looked at every book they had about "homosexuality."  I'd always been a pretty nerdy kid and was convinced that there was going to be a book that would exist that would help me figure out how to get through this.  I was shocked that there was nothing. The only books I found that talked about LGBTQ youth were positive stories about parents who got upset for a little bit, but swiftly recovered and were inviting their daughters girlfriend to dinner, and baking cupcakes for their son's GSA meetings.  These stories are of course really important, and I'm excited to see them being published but they couldn't have been further from my experience and the experiences of the kids that were swiftly becoming my community.  This was the first time that a library had failed me.  Sitting there surrounded by the books I made a promise to myself that if I made it I was going to create a book and that never again would another queer kid feel alone for loosing family. 

B: What did it feel like to not find any books with stories of how LGBTQ youth struggle? Did it make you feel like the only kid who went through the hardships you went through?

S: I was devastated. Books had always had the answers for me, or at least had given me hope and possibility.  I remember buying my first gay YA novel one of the few times I was able to go somewhere without my mother and I hid it under my mattress and read it again and again after she'd gone to bed.  I took it with me when I left, and still have it on my bookshelf, broken spine and all.  Books were a really important part of how I learned about queerness, and the world outside the conservative county I grew up in. To have books fail me when I was most in need of the sort of guidance and companionship that only a book can provide was intense.  I was already feeling pretty alone (this was before I became connected with a larger community of queer kids). I was one of three kids out at my high school. The administration hadn't  really known what to do with me before I was kicked out, and once that happened they actually told me they had never "had to deal with a kid like me before."

B: "Deal with a kid like you before"? So, they were stereotyping! Has being LGBTQ and homeless sort of... branded something unto you, in other people's perspectives? Like, have people drew conclusions and judged you because of it? Ever?

S: There was a lot of judgment in the statements they were making about me but it also really spoke to the overall silencing of LGBTQ youth homelessness in general - let alone outside of urban areas. They honestly had no idea what to do with me.   Beyond those early days though,  for years I was very nervous about talking with people in the community (outside of my circle of  homeless queer youth)  because there is a lot of stigma associated with having been kicked out.  This was something that I've heard other formerly homeless LGBTQ folks grapple with as well, and something many of the contributors were concerned about prior to the books release.  There remains a lot of stigma in society at large, and even within the LGBTQ community around not having this idyllic family background or experience and all the stereotypes that exist about who homeless youth are, why they are homeless etc.

B: One of my favorite things about Kicked Out is that there's a diverse group of contributors, as well as a diverse group of voices. How important did you think it was to represent all members of the LGBTQ community?

S: I think that being very conscious of the diversity of writers is important for any anthology, but especially for a book like Kicked Out.  LGBTQ youth homelessness is an epidemic, it impacts youth in ever community from the biggest city to the smallest town. It occurs across lines of race, class, religion, ability, and geographic region.  I knew that it would be impossible for me to put together a book that would include every experience, but I wanted to do everything within my power to ensure that when finished Kicked Out represented the diversity of this epidemic as much as possible.  I wanted Kicked Out to be a wake up call for readers, and in order to do that I felt like I needed to ensure that people could see themselves- their communities and families somewhere within this book. I wanted people to see themselves so that they couldn't dismiss our stories as something that happened to other people, somewhere else but instead would be forced to contend with the reality that this is the kid who lives next door.


Sassafras along with some of the contributors of Kicked Out.



B: So, with this diversity, was it really, really hard to edit Kicked Out? Like, every LGBTQ teen have an individual story to tell, so was it hard to choose which stories to publish?

S: When the call for submissions went out I was overwhelmed with the response I received back. I come from a space where one my core beliefs is that everyone has a story to tell and the telling of stories is essential in the creation of social change so  it was really hard.  I had numerous people (both those whose stories made it into the book and those whose didn't) talk about how this was the first time they were going to be open about their experience.  I had an incredible number of stories to choose from so what I ended up going for was a representative sample that in my opinion best conveyed the diversity of the epidemic.

B: What's your favorite story in Kicked Out? One that touched you the most...
I couldn't possibly pick a favorite, I think the closest comparison I can come up with would be like asking a parent to choose their favorite child.  Each and every story in Kicked Out touched me on a different deep and personal level.

B:  Yeah, I don't think I could either...

B: Are you working on anything else right now? Like, any anthologies?

S: Kicked Out came out in January so I've made a promise to my family that I won't even begin working on another book until at least January 2011 in order to give myself a bit of a break.  Kicked Out  was a full time job for the 2.5 years it was in production, and it really still is.
This year I'm  focusing on promoting the book and raising awareness about it. I've been up in Boston in the late spring and this summer I'll be in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and San Francisco.  I'm working on finalizing some fall bookings to other cities in different regions so keep checking back at http://www.kickedoutanthology.com as more bookings get confirmed. 

B: Do you see yourself continuing working to raise awareness on LGBTQ homelessness, or are there other topics and issues calling to you?

S: LGBTQ youth homelessness is absolutely  something that I have dedicated my life to raising awareness around, and I can't imagine that changing.  There are lots of issues that speak to me, and this isn't the only thing that I work on and feel passionately about but it's something always at the forefront of my mind.

B: What would you sat to parents struggling to accept their child’s sexuality and identity?

S: If I were talking to parents who are struggling to accept their child I would first and foremost encourage them to find their local PFLAG chapter where they can get guidance and support from parents and families who have also struggled to come to terms with who their child is. 

B: What would you say to teens whose parents have kicked Them out because of their sexuality?
 

S: I get asked variations of this question a lot.  Unfortunately I don't have a generic answer because each situation is so unique and I feel like only the youth in question will know what's right for them.
What I can and do tell youth is to find community whenever possible and begin building a chosen family of people who support and believe in you. Also I suggest youth try and get in touch with an LGBTQ drop in center if there's one near them.
  
Thanks, Sassafras, so much for raising awareness on such a great topic! And agreeing to answer my questions. ;) Continue fighting the good fight, girl!

Okay, so you totally want to go out and buy Kicked Out, right?

Check it out!



My Review!
 
http://kickedoutanthology.com/