CRANK

Crank by Ellen Hopkins
I'm giving this one 5 stars

Kristina Snow discovers Crank while visiting her father in Arizona. While there she meets this guy that introduces her to it and she's hooked right away. She even comes up with a new name for her other self. The person that she is when she's on Crank. And that name is Bree.

When she gets back home after the three weeks with her father her bad ass Bree self takes over. She ends up meeting two guys Brendan and Chase. She knew of Chase beforehand as a troublemaker around her school so she never dared to talk to him until now. She met Brendan at a water park.

As time goes on Kristina keeps getting her hands on more and more Crank and gets in to all sorts of trouble. Brendan ends up raping her and she feels like she let it happen because she needed more Crank. After the Brendan fiasco Chase comes to her rescue. And she ends up falling in love with him.

All the while Kristina's grades are steadily dropping and her mother doesn't trust her anymore. And her mom's boyfriend Scott is really getting on her nerves. Will Kristina ever be able to break her addiction, especially after she finds something out that will change her life forever?

This book looks long when you first pick it up but it's really not. I started reading it last night and finished it this morning. It's written as a bunch of small poems put together as a story. I love books like this. The whole book was just great. It moved at such a fast pace and was really easy to read. It was crazy to see Kristina change from her normal almost perfect self in to Bree. This girl who is totally addicted to the monster and will do basically anything to get her hands on more. It really opens your eyes to the drug world and how caught up you can get so quickly. Basically in the blink of an eye your life can change. Needless to say I can't wait to read the sequel, GLASS.

Switch (ARC)

Switch by Carol Snow
(released September 9th.)
I give it 5 plus stars! Great read =)

Claire Martin is your average 15 year old girl. She has her loving mom (Dr. Martin) and her best friend Beanie. She also has a big crush on her fellow swimming buddy, Nate. And of course the ghost of her deceased grandmother (Evelyn) who has been around since Claire was a baby, even long before that. She probably doesn't sound that average anymore, right? Here's the real kicker: Claire is what she and her grandmother call a "Switcher". Whenever a bad storm kicks up in Claire's little beach town she'll be pushed out of her own body in to another girl's body But only a girl who was born close to the same time Claire was and that lives only around a mile or so away. So most of the time Claire switches in to a visiting girl's body. Just someone who is vacationing with her family. Overnight Claire ends up back in her own body and wakes up back to her old self.

But at one point (during the day even) a little bit of static electricity sends Claire in to the body of a girl that her and her friend Beanie saw just the other day on the beach. She was obviously not a local from the looks of her and she was watching two little boys. She was a skinny little thing in a bikini that barely covered her at all. She also seemed like a complete B word to both Claire and Beanie just by looking at her. Of course she had all the attention from the guys though, especially Nate. So when Claire is zapped into this girl's body (her name is Larissa) she is of course shocked but at the same time a bit excited. She finally has a body that she loves and is actually able to show it off without looking ridiculous.

But when Claire wakes up the next morning she's still in Larissa's body. And now she's stuck watching these two little attention starved boys from basically dusk till dawn. But she has the attention of Nate and she's not about to lose it. What could a few days in Larissa's body hurt? Except for the fact that Larissa's soul is just floating around while Evelyn is hanging out in Claire's body for the time being. Will Claire ever switch back in to her own body? And the most important part: will she actually want to?

This book was amazing! I pretty much couldn't put it down. I got so engrossed in it every time I picked it up. I could totally understand why Claire was debating whether or not she wanted her old body back. I mean she finally had the attention of the guy she's liked for so long. Who would want to give that up? And I loved Evelyn's character. She was hilarious. Always walking around as her ghosty self (when she wasn't in Claire's body that is) smoking the same cigarette day after day. The ending was also really touching. It was just overall a fantastic book. I highly suggest picking up a copy when it's released. =)

Undone Contests!

So there are two great Undone contests going on right now.

The first is from Reviewer X and all you have to do is leave a comment on the "Pretty Damn Cool Undone Contest" entry to enter. You can also get extra entries. The details are on the same entry obviously, lol. The contest ends on July 27th, so go enter now! She also has an author interview with Brooke Taylor herself up as well. So go read that too.

The second is a kick butt contest from Brooke Taylor herself to win a copy of Undone of course and 6 other signed books of your choice from the authors listed! How incredibly awesome is that?! All you have to do to enter is post the trailer for Undone on your website and send Brooke the link on any of her blogs. The contest ends tomorrow the 25th. at noon CST. So go enter quickly!

The Blonde of the Joke (ARC)

The Blonde of the Joke by Bennett Madison
(out on September 2nd.)
I give it 5 out of 5 stars =)

Valentina has had friends throughout the years. But they all just seem to fade out and then she's left by herself again. She spends her time at the mall hoping that one day something there will change her life. And what do you know it actually happens. While she's browsing the racks at the Wet Seal Francie Knight taps on her shoulder. Francie is a very provocative girl in Val's class who has been seen around campus wearing the "whore's rain coat". Apparently Francie is a major shoplifter and soon Val is too. All the girls ever do is hang out at the mall shoplifting basically whatever they can get their hands on in search of the "Holy Grail". The one most amazing thing that they have ever seen in their life.

When Val isn't with Francie she's worrying about her older brother Jesse who is mysteriously dying. Val has never really understood why he is but apparently he is and it's going to happen someday soon. She's also starting to mess around a bit (behind Francie's back) with the very attractive boy that met her and Francie at the mall one day.

Francie also deals with her own problems involving her basically psychotic mother who randomly disappears and when Francie finds her she'll end up staying with her grandmother for a week or so when her mom checks herself in to the hospital.

Soon Val gets a little tired of Francie's ways and decides she needs to do something. But how drastic will that something be?

Alright so that wasn't my best summary but this one of those books that's kind of hard to summarize. But I definitely loved this book. It was great. Francie's character was so out there and soon Val's character was too. The whole part about Val's brother dying and everything was a little weird but I'm sure it will make sense to other people. I loved the ending of this book too. It wasn't too abrupt and it was just a nice ending. All in all a pretty great book. I definitely want to read something else by Bennett now. =)

Audrey, Wait!

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
I give it 5 out of 5 stars!!!!! (amazing book, seriously)

16-year-old Audrey Cuttler breaks up with her boyfriend Evan who is the lead singer in a local band called the Do-Gooders. She breaks up with him before a major show where an agent is coming to listen to their music to see if their music is any good. Evan is crushed and ends up writing a new song right before the show titled none other than "Audrey, Wait!". Now this obviously screws with Audrey. The song makes her sound like a horrible person who broke Evan's heart. And guess what, it's terrible catchy and everyone at the show loves it. Audrey just stands there totally frozen and speechless. She goes home that night telling herself that it's not a big deal and that after tonight it'll just be another one of the Do-Gooder's songs. Not such a huge deal. Little does Audrey know that on the same night of the concert the band is told that their songs are great and are immediately signed on for a record deal.

None of the boys return to school in September and no one really thinks it's that big of a deal. Until one day when Audrey is working at her definition of hell, The Scooper Dooper with the other main employee James who is totally obsessed with doing everything perfectly at work. While listening to the radio all of a sudden "Audrey, Wait!" starts playing and Audrey just freezes. It turns out the song is turning in to be a huge hit and suddenly Audrey is famous.

Audrey's whole life changes. People at school are looking at her differently and whispering about her. People are coming into her work having driven an hour or more just to have a picture taken with her. All of this attention is driving Audrey crazy. All she wants to do is hang out with her friend Veronica and go to all the amazing concerts that they can. She also wouldn't mind going out with James after she finally realizes that she likes him and that he likes her despite the way he acts around her.

Pretty soon Audrey's life is in total chaos. Reporters from newspapers and magazines from all over the world want to talk to Audrey and get her side of the story. But she really couldn't give a crap! Her best friend Veronica is sucking up all the publicity and trying to get Audrey to use everything to her advantage and it's starting to really annoy Audrey. Really, who's side is Veronica on anyway? James and Audrey can't even go out in public without being attacked by the paparazzi. Will this madness in Audrey's life ever end?

Ahh! This book was completely amazing! I couldn't put it down. I stayed up until 2 in the morning finishing it. It was just so good. I loved Robin's writing style and the way she had Audrey and Veronica talk. And Audrey's and James' relationship was just too adorable. I seriously loved everything about this book and I already know I'll read it many many more times. So I definitely suggest you go read this if you haven't already, especially if you love music. It's definitely a book for music lovers. =)

Contests!

There are some great contests going on right now. You should go check them out.

Hope of Hope's Bookshelf is giving away a copy of The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine by April Lurie. The contest ends on July 9th, Wednesday at Midnight eastern time. So go hurry up and enter! She also has a review posted of the book. So go check that out too.

Lenore of Presenting Lenore is giving away 3 (yes 3!) ARC's of The Joy of Spooking by P.J. Bracegirdle. There are 5 ways to enter and the contest ends on July 20th. at 9pm CST. So go enter that one too!

Reviwer X is giving away a copy of The Elite by Jennifer Banash. The contest is open until July 11th. So go enter now! And if you do enter tell them that Breanna sent you and be sure to make sure that your entry is not Anonymous as Anonymous entries do not count.

Harmony of Harmony Book Reviews is giving away 2 copies of The Elite by Jennifer Banash plus a mixed CD of songs that inspired Jennifer while writing it. How cool is that? Just be sure to enter by July 31st. It's as simple as that. There are also ways to get extra entries, which is always nice. =)

Oh and also of course The Story Siren is having her monthly contest. Which I have to say is pretty freaking awesome. Head on over for her blog for details. The winner gets to choose one of 7 books this month. The books being Band Geek Love by Josie Bloss, Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab, Braless in Wonderland by Debbie Reed Fisher, Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall, Violet on the Runway, Violet by Design or Violet in Private by Melissa Walker. So head on over to her blog and check out the details!

And of course be sure to check out Carol from Bookluver-Carol's Reviews monthly contest. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on her reviews and you get two entries for leaving a comment on her author interviews. The prize is a book that you get to pick from the available books she has to give away. The last day to enter is July 31st. So go ahead and enter, it's easy!

Megan of From the Corner of Megan's Mind is currently holding the second Mystery contest. It's only open to U.S. residents (but don't worry, the next one will be open to everyone) and the ending date is undetermined. So head on over to her blog for details. What are you waiting for? Go enter!

WAKE

WAKE by Lisa McMann
I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

17-year-old Janie Hannagan is sick and tired of seeing other people's dreams. Ever since she was 8 whenever someone around her starts having an intense dream Janie will be sucked it in to it. She blacks out and practically has seizures when a really intense dream will hit her. She works at a nursing home and doesn't have too much trouble there because the older people have trouble sleeping so they rarely ever dream. But once in a while an intense dream will hit her and she has to try to keep it together, which can be extremely difficult at times.

Lately she's been being sucked in to Cabel Strumheller's dreams. A guy that is in her class but has been held back a year so he's 19 now. Cabel's dreams are the worst she's ever seen and they have the most horrible effect her. At one point she ends up telling Cabel about her problem and they start to get pretty close until Cabel starts hanging out with the popular girl (Shay) from her class and doing drug business with her dad. When Janie finds all this out she's extremely pissed off and has no idea what to even think of Cabel anymore.

In the meantime Janie has been able to start controlling the dreams that she's pulled in to. She can even stop herself from being pulled into a dream if she concentrates hard enough. Cabel keeps trying to make up with her and talk to Janie but she never lets him. Until one day when Cabel asks her to come see his boss because she wants to have a talk with Janie. At this point Janie is completely baffled but ends up going along anyway. What will she find out when she gets there?

Wow, this book was intense! It was a really quick read but so amazing. I can't wait until FADE comes out next year. I loved Janie and Cabel's characters. They were both so intense and just out there. Lisa has an amazing writing style, and I completely loved it. I was so caught up in this book the whole time I was reading it. I never wanted to put it down. Seriously, go read this book. You won't regret it, I promise! =)

Stephanie's Release Party!

Check out Stephanie's release party starting next week on July 7th on her blog. There'll be some great giveaways and I'm sure it'll be a great release week! So go check it out next week and party with Stephanie =)

The Brothers Torres

The Brotheres Torres by Coert Voorhees
I give it 5 stars out of 5.

Frankie and Steve Towers are brothers. Frankie is a freshman and Steve is a Senior. Frankie has always looked up to his older brother who has gotten a soccer scholarship, is one of the most popular guys in school, and is very popular with the ladies. Frankie spends most of his time with his friend Zach shooting off fireworks in his back yard while Zach's mom makes them Kool-Aid flavored popsicles. The remainder of his time is put in to Rebecca, the girl he has had a major crush on since grade school and working at his parent's restaurant.

Recently Steve has been hanging out with the local "cholos" (aka bad boys) and Frankie hasn't really thought anything of it until he gets in to a fist fight with John Dalton who has always been on Steve's bad side and is one of the richest, preppiest kids at their high school. After Frankie gets beaten to a pulp by John and two of his sidekicks Steve stops ignoring his brother and tries to help him out.

Soon with Steve's help Frankie finally has the attention of Rebecca in the form of a Homecoming date and life is going pretty well until another incident with Dalton happens. This time Steve really wants pay back and will stop at nothing to get it. And Frankie has to decide whether he wants to help Steve retaliate or stand on the sidelines and watch.

This book was great. I loved Frankie's character and how he acted around Rebecca. I could totally see the events in this book actually happening in real life which indeed made the book a bit scary at times. But it also made it even more great. I love real life situations. Coert is a really strong writer and I loved his style. This book had me laughing at times and on the verge of tears at others. Overall it was really a great book and I can't wait to read more by this great author.

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day by Meg Cabot
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Allie Finkle is a happy fourth grader who lives with her parents and her two younger brothers. She has a best friend named Mary Kay who cries a lot. Sometimes Allie doesn't even know why she's friends with Mary Kay.

The day before Mary Kay's birthday Allie's parents tell Allie that they will be moving. And that once they move Allie will have to go to a different school because they'll be in a different school district. A few days later Allie's family goes to see the house and Allie immediately doesn't like it. It's big, dirty, creepy, and old. All the stairs creak and there are spiders everywhere. But then Allie sees a girl next door and ends up going over to talk with her. The girl's name is Erica and she's in the same grade as Allie. While over at Erica's house her brother comes over to talk to them and tells Allie that there is a zombie hand living in the attic. At this point Allie has had enough and flat out refuses to move into this house with her family. She just knows something awful will happen to all of them. So she comes up with a plan to get her parents to stay in their old house. But will her plan work, or just backfire?

This was such a cute book. I bought it to give to my cousin's daughter for her birthday this year but I wanted to read it before I gave it to her. I loved it. It was so funny and just plain cute. I think pretty much every young girl would love to get their hands on a copy of this book.