TFIOS MOVIE TRAILER

I'm too emotional right now to compose a nice post. I'm bawling my eyes out, y'all. 

Watch it here: http://youtu.be/9ItBvH5J6ss

 

-Matt

The Book Shimmy Award Winners!

For those of you who don't know, The Book Shimmy Awards were created by Team EpicReads and all of the winners were chosen based on all the votes us fans sent in! Follow @EpicReads on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with the  latest YA books and bookish news! 

Without further ado, allow me to present to you the winners of the 2013 Book Shimmy Awards! 

Leading Lady Award 

UNTOLD by Sarah Rees Brennan 

(Sequel to UNSPOKEN)

I did not hear of this author until I watched The Book Shimmy Awards. I'll definitely have to read this series!

Leading Laddie Award

Day from CHAMPION by Marie Lu

(Final book in the Legend Trilogy)

I have been with series for a long time, and I must say that Day certainly deserves this award! And Marie Lu for creating him!

Most Emotionally Crippling Ending Award

ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth

(Final book in the DIVERGENT trilogy)

If you have read this book, you will know that it was destined to win this award.

Best Friendship Award

Marlee and America from THE ELITE by Kiera Cass

(Sequel to THE SELECTION)

I have these books on my shelf but I have yet to read them. I have only heard good things about this series!

Couple Of The Year Award

Will and Tessa from THE CLOCKWORK PRINCESS by Cassandra Clare

(Final book in the INFERNAL DEVICES trilogy)

I am a major fan of this trilogy. And a fan of Cassandra Clare's works in general. I am proud to say that I voted for Wessa to win this award! 

Is This Real Life? Award 

(Best Fantasy)

SCARLET by Marissa Meyer

(Sequel to CINDER)

I've been with this series since the very beginning, so I am extremely proud to see it go this far! Marissa Meyer is a stunning author who can write the best retellings you've ever read! 

Scariest Fathomable Future Award

(Best YA Dystopian)

REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver

(Final book in the DELIRIUM trilogy)

This trilogy is about the government taking away our ability to love by surgically removing it. This is by far the scariest fathomable future! Being unable to love would be the downfall of the world. I'd rather be dead than be unable to love.

Fan Yourself Award

(Sexiest YA Novel)

UNRAVEL ME by Taherah Mafi

(Sequel to SHATTER ME)

Things get real steamy in this thrilling series!

The Cheese Stands Alone Award

(Best YA Standalone)

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

I'm actually in the process of reading this book right now! It's a spectacular realistic fiction that all you fangirls/fanboys can relate to!

Most Badass Heroine Award

Tris Prior from ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth

(Final book in the DIVERGENT trilogy)

Tris Prior wasn't always a badass, but throughout the series she was given the opportunity to stand up and take her place in the movement to save her world.

Secondary Character Most In Need of His/Her Own Novel

Marlee from THE ELITE by Kiera Cass
(sequel to THE SELECTION)
  

New Kid On The Block Award

(Best YA Debut Author)

A. G. Howard, author of SPLINTERED

This is another book that is definitely on my TBR list! Cannot wait to read this brilliant Alice in Wonderland retelling!

World Series Champion Award

(Best series that ended in 2013)

The DIVERGENT trilogy by Veronica Roth

These fantastic books couldn't have ended better! I'm heartbroken but satisfied.

If You Don't Give Me This Book Right Now I Will Cut Someone Award

(Most Anticipated 2014 YA Novel)

FAKING NORMAL by Courtney C. Stevens

I have already read this book, and I must tell y'all that there is a reason it is the most anticipated! IT IS SPECTACULAR! I can see this book becoming something really big! That is, even bigger than it already is!

The Feels Award

ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell is one of the best YA standalone authors I've ever read! She ranks right up there with John Green, folks! Eleanor and Park was a really great read that made me keep reading after every chapter! (It made me read the whole thing in one sitting, it was THAT awesome).

Book Hangover Award

THE ELITE by Kiera Cass

(Sequel to THE SELECTION)

Best Book Fandom Award

HARRY POTTER

HARRY POTTER certainly deserved this award. There are more Potterheads in the world than any other booknerd! This is easily the biggest fandom in the world. Aside from Doctor Who.

Best YA Adapted Movie

CATCHING FIRE 

Based on the bestselling sequel to THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

If this movie did not win this award, I was going to hurt someone. It is the best book to movie adaptation I have EVER SEEN!

LONG LIVE FRANCIS LAWRENCE!

The Pagemaster Award

+

Best of Shelf Award

Veronica Roth and ALLEGIANT!

Veronica Roth will now be referred to as 'The Pagemaster' for her excellent contribution to the YA community in 2013! We love you, Veronica! Er- PAGEMASTER!

Congratulations to all the winners and Nominees of the very first 

BOOK SHIMMY AWARDS! 

Special thanks to Margo and Aubrey, the two girls that made it all happen! EpicReads isn't just a job for them, it's something they love to do. They're dedicated fangirls who reach out to all of us booknerds and make everything fun and exciting. They didn't have to do the Book Shimmy Awards, they wanted to! Every week they host #TeaTime and show us their glowing faces. It's always my highlight of the week to see them and it's always a joy to hear from them on Twitter. Let's all take a moment and thank them both for their hard work. Share the love!

I cannot wait for next year's Book Shimmy Awards! I predict it will be a real brawl!

-Matt

 

 This week's Waiting On Wednesday is one that is very special to me!  I've been with this series since the very first book was released, and I am very enthusiastic about the third book's release! The author is SPECTACULAR! She's an amazing writer, she's a nice person and very fun to talk to, and she is the one who inspired me to start writing my own novel! 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you CRESS by Marissa Meyer!

 

 

 Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

I first heard about Cinder on Goodreads! It was in the section of books that had been released that particular week, and it intrigued me. The idea of a retelling of Cinderella with cyborgs and aliens and awesome scifi sounded too good to be true! So I bought the book, read it, and INSTANTLY fell in love with her and her books! I've been a fan of hers ever since!

I highly recommend her books for ANYONE! Even my picky-reader brother loved Cinder and cannot wait to read the other books in the series. She's even writing another retelling, separate from THE LUNAR CHRONICLES, called HEARTLESS! It's an Alice In Wonderland retelling, focussing on the untold stor of the Queen of Hearts! 

I hope that I will be able to meet her when she visits Texas on Valentine's Day! It would be like a dream come true! 

You can look at her tour schedule HERE if you want to see her!

-Matt

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 where bloggers share their opinions on bookish topics in list form

Topic: Things On My Reading List

(if you could make authors write about these things you would. Could be a specific type of character, an issue tackled, a time period, a certain plot, etc.)

  
 1. Contemporaries Without Romance

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE ya contemporary romances! I'm just saying that I would love to see more contemporaries with more friendship building and other important things, rather than the characters falling in love. This is not a slam on romances, guys.

2. Books In The POV Of Side Characters

If you have read THE BOOK THIEF or TIGER LILY, then you know what I'm talking about. I would like to have more books written from the perspective of a character that isn't really involved in the story. For example, TIGER LILY is told by Tinkerbell, the fairy, who is a bystander and overlooks everything that goes on in Neverland. Basically what I'm talking about is a narrator who is also a character in the book. I hope that made sense. 

3. YA Comedies 

I'm sure that there are billions of YA comedies that I do not know about, but I'd like to start seeing more comedies in the YA world! If you have recommendations for me, comment below and tell me about it!

4. Mythology

Again, I'm probably just oblivious to some awesome Greek/Egyptian/Roman mythology, but I'd still love to see more of this! I'm still looking forward to reading the STARCROSSED series! Heard it's great Greek mythology. 

5. Unicorns!

I don't know, I think someone should write a boss YA book about a unicorn. I can see it being very dark and dreamy. Somebody take note of this!

6. Alien Protagonist, Human Antagonist

I know that most of you are probably thinking immediately of THE LORIEN LEGACIES series, but that's not exactly what I mean. I really want to read a story in the perspective of an alien who invades earth... or something like that. Just a cool idea!

7. Crazy Original Concepts

When I say this, I mean things like the "Noise" from THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO. Something so mind-blowing and fascinating that I just HAVE to read the book because of that one thing!

8. Retellings

Retellings are some of my favorite things to read! Particularly fairytale retellings like CINDER by Marissa Meyer, TIGER LILY by Jodi Lynn Anderson, DOROTHY MUST DIE by Danielle Paige, SPLINTERED by A. G. Howard and BEASTLY by Alex Flinn. (Cinderella, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Beauty and the Beast, in that order).

9. Beautiful Yet Terrifying Books

What I mean by this is that I love reading about books that are beautiful in setting and the poetic writing style. THE INFERNAL DEVICES series by Cassandra Clare immediately comes to mind! It's so captivating and gorgeous but at the same time, they're battling demons and warlocks and fighting against evil monsters. I've heard that SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY falls into this category.

10. Books + Music

FAKING NORMAL by Courtney C. Stevens is the best example of this. The book is an absolutely amazing story, but it's also intertwined by the main character's passion for music, and there are countless all-original lyrics that appear in the novel as well. 

Well, I guess this concludes my very first Top Ten Tuesday! Feel free to leave me book recommendations in the comments or just comment to say hi! Love hearing from my blogger friends!

DFTBA!

-Matt

Waiting On Wednesday! Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy!

 

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

"What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you?

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission.

Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all that she’s said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the one person who matters most?

Julie Murphy’s SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY is a fearless and moving tour de force about love, life, and facing your own mortality." 

I've been waiting for this book since the cover was released a while back! This book is very intriguing, especially with that amazing cover! I really enjoy reading books like this. Ever since I read The Perks of being a Wallflower a few years ago, I've been hooked on these realistic, coming-of-age style books. Side Effects May Vary certainly falls under that category, and I cannot wait to read it! 

Who knows, maybe I'll get my hands on an ARC. I've tried a few times already, but "you receive not if you ask not" so by golly I'll keep at it! 

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Don't forget to watch #TeaTime with @EpicReads at 2:45PM CST! Click this link to watch the live stream when it's time! Don't miss out book rebels! If you miss today, it comes on every week at the same time!

 

 

-Matt

COVER REVEAL FOR CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE BY CASSANDRA CLARE!

I don't know if you can rate covers, but I rate this one 5/5 stars!

For those of you who don't know about The Mortal Instruments series, this is the cover reveal for the sixth and final book in the series, SO THIS IS A BIG DEAL! (At least, for us it sure is). 

For months we have been teased and tortured by Cassie. She's sent out fake covers, teaser covers, excerpts, and quotes that have KILLED US! But the wait is finally over! 

Without further ado, here it comes *drumrolls*

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE!

AHAHAGHDHJWJAKDLFLKSHEHEHFKUC! 

SEBASTIAN AND CLARY

*applauds*

*cries*

This cover is darkly beautiful and beyond perfection! Though I can already see terrible things in this book...

As many of you know, Cassie likes to put teasers IN HER COVERS that will drive us crazy. 

For instance, Sebation with black wings. We don't know for sure what this means and Cassie won't tell us. All she's said is that Clary always dreamed about him with black wings...

Also, the golden sky in the background. That is Jace. Remember in her dreams when she described him as the shimmering golden sky or something? 

As for the dagger in Clary's hand, it IS NOT a seraph blade, nor is it a stele. It is a mere dagger, according to Cassie. 

If you look closely, the fire at the bottom of the cover resembles the shape of shoulders with wings. It could just be me, but that's what I'm seeing there. 

And what about Clary's back turned? Does that symbolize betrayal? 

BUT THE WORST OF ALL IS THIS. 

She is wearing white. 

Clarissa Fray is in mourning...

 

 

 

 that is all

-Matt

Book Review for FAKING NORMAL by Courtney C. Stevens

5/5 stars!

 

"Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

At school, nobody sees the scratches or her pain. The only person she connects with is the mysterious Captain Lyric, who writes song lyrics on her fourth-period desk for her to complete. With pencil marks and music, Alexi carves out a comfortable space for herself as she and the Captain finish each other's songs—words on a desk feel safer than words spoken aloud.

But when Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend who understands her better than anyone. He has secrets of his own and knows all about suffering in silence. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally speak up.

With her powerful, moving debut novel, author Courtney C. Stevens emerges as an extraordinary new talent to watch."

                              -Goodreads

A few months ago, I was watching #TeaTime with EpicReads and Faking Normal was one of the books they had just read that they wouldn't stop talking about. And when Margo and Aubrey won't stop talking about a book, it means IT'S PRETTY DARN GOOD! So I requested the ARC and got it about a month later. Since I was busy writing, it was sitting on my shelf for a long while until I finally picked it up a few days ago.

LANGUAGE

It has pretty strong language throughout the book (shit, hell, damn, etc.) but the f-word was not used. But don't let the language turn you away from this amazing story!

SEX

It's mentioned several times that the group of friends certainly aren't virgins, but there's never a described scene.

Let me tell you right now, this book is more than you could imagine in a book as far as relatability, emotion, and real characters. It is such a great read, I'm telling you! But grab a pile of food when you read it. Because if you're like me, and you communicate every emotion by eating, then you'll need it.

 MAIN CHARACTERS

Alexi is the main character. She's the girl that pretends. She wants to be normal and have a normal life, but she knows that she can't with all the weight on her shoulders. She tells everyone that she's fine, she tells herself to move on. What I like about her character is that she doesn't want the world to feel sorry for her, she wants it to look past her because she's normal, which is very true in real life. A lot of people don't want to make known their vulnerability and advertise their sorrows. 

Every scene where Alexi opened up and talked about wanting to move on from her past but being stuck in her misery, I just burst into tears. 

Bodee starts out as the victim of the story, but he doesn't like that. And I like that. Even though he's been through unspeakable things, he still has his head on straight. The Littrells take him in to help him, but he ends up helping Alexi more than anybody would've known. Bodee is the kind of person I'd be friends with. I can really relate to things that he goes through. We both dye our hair outrageous colors on a regular basis, we value people, no matter who they are, and we're both afraid of following in our father's footsteps. 

The way he trudged on through the tough times and kept going, it was inspiring. He was strong because he had to be. It made me want to give him a big bear hug and be his best friend!

 

All in all, this book was a tear-jerking, heart-breaking, beautifully meaningful story and I highly recommend it! Courtney Stevens isn't just an author writing this for fun. She feels that this is important and wants to help teens get out of their closets and emotional shields and learn to channel their brave, just like Alexi did.
How I felt at the beginning of the book:

 

How I felt after the book:

 I was literally sobbing in my bed at 2:30am.

Look for FAKING NORMAL on the shelves in April, 2014! Also, it's prequel story, THE BLUE-HAIRED BOY, comes out a week later! You won't want to miss out on these books!

Follow the author on Twitter @Quartland! She's super nice and fun to talk to!

Hope you enjoyed reading! 

DFTBA!

~Matt

Writin' Like A Fool: My Writing Experience!

Hello, fellow bloggers!

Yes, I am still alive and active in the nerd world! I know I haven't made a post since Christmas and for that I am very sorry! BUT, I must say that I have a very good excuse for being absent. For the past two months I've been working on something that has been taking up most of my time, therefore preventing me from weekly blog posts. I've told some of my Twitter friends already but for those who don't know, I shall make it clear.

I'M WRITING A BOOK!

Yep, that's what I'm going with! This is the part of the post where I'm going to tell a long story about my first novel-writing experience. So sit back and enjoy!

Most of you know about the annual writing program, NaNoWriMo. (For those who don't, it's a yearly event during which writers are pushed to their limits to try and write 50k words of a novel. It's a motivational program that helps writers start get their ideas typed out and just start writing.) I had heard of NaNoWriMo before when bestselling author Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles Series) posted about her experience with the program. That was in 2012, shortly after her first novel was published. 

Needless to say, November really crept up on me in 2013 and somehow NaNoWriMo completely slipped my mind until November 4th, when I suddenly started seeing billions of tweets with the #NaNo hashtag. 

 

I totally freaked out because I felt so behind. Then I quickly made an account and wrote 4k words that day. It took me a couple days to catch up, but I was soon back on track. Then something so normal yet terrifying occurred; LIFE HAPPENED. 

You think I wrote peacefully everyday until I reached the 50k point, then sat back in a recliner and drank apple juice (because I'm a minor) for the rest of the month? Excuse me for a moment.

 I will be the first to admit that I did NOT reach 50k words in November because I am kind of social, so I stupidly packed my November with parties, get togethers, and other social gatherings. So I only got around to writing 28k. Pathetic, I know. From there, everything started going a lot smoother, since there wasn't a deadline. I wrote about a thousand words for a few days and then kind of forgot about writing. Then I took a two week break for Christmas and New Year's because of my crazy busy life. But now I'm on a writing schedule and I'm planning on finishing the first draft of my novel this month!

Anyways, writing my own novel has been totally different than what I expected! Some things that I thought would be hard turn out to be easier, and at the same time, parts that I thought would be easy, have turned out to be a lot more complex than I was expecting. 

Outlining

 Before I started writing, I would always look up other author's stories. Mostly to find out how they became an author, and what their style is. As far as outlining, I'd always look at them and inwardly say "Dang, I wish I could be that organized." As it turns out, when I started writing I was also writing down little tidbits in my Notes on my iPod. Just random facts, character traits, and occurrences that will appear in the novel. Then I frustrated myself with my disorganization and put all the notes in order, like a timeline. 

As I did that, it suddenly hit me. Hey, this is kind of outlining! So I guess am sort of a planner, but my outline changed CONSTANTLY and it is still changing! The story has been telling itself, all I've had to do is listen to it and write that sucker down!

BUT! There have, of course, been times when I had no idea what would happen next and I felt like giving up. But I never allowed myself to do so because I believe I am capable of anything through God, motivation and a positive attitude!

Thanks, Dwight.

Characters

At first I thought that I was supposed to map out each and every characteristic of every person that appears in my story. But that quickly changed when I started writing! Through time, my characters started to surprise me with the things they said and did. Your characters are their own individuals, so allow them to be themselves! Let them express who they are and surprise you sometimes. Now that I'm over halfway done with my novel, I can pretty much predict what my characters will do. I'm very attached to each one of them (yes, even the antagonists) but I will not hesitate to kill anyone off if the plot demands it!

As a side note, something that's important to me in a great book are powerful quotes. Quotes that give you chills they're so cool, or the kind of quotes that are so mind-blowing and complex that you have no idea what to think anymore like

If there's one thing that I've learned while writing, it's that nothing EVER goes the way you originally plan it. At least, that's what has happened for me so far. You may have better luck! No matter what, you just have to keep writing and know that there's a light at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel of writing and editing (which I haven't gotten to yet).

BTW I am not writing this post talking about how experienced I am in writing! When I say 'experience' I'm talking about what I am currently experiencing! Please feel free to give me any writing tips or blog post critiques! 

Thanks for reading! I love you guys!

-Matt