Let's Get Better Together

On May 31, for the third year in a row, President Obama declared June to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. This celebration month was created to recognize the LGBT community, to educate and spread acceptance, and to fight prejudice and discrimination.While I think this is an issue that should be addressed every day, I am glad our nation's leader has designated an entire month to raise awareness for such an important cause.

In honor of LGBT Month, I'm running a two-week special feature here at bookmarked, called Let's Get Better Together. The name is inspired by the It Gets Better Project, a web project created by Dan Savage in response to the suicides of several gay teenagers who were bullied. What started as a single YouTube video a mere nine months ago has since exploded: there are now more than 10,000 videos uploaded by people from around the world of all sexual orientations, including many celebrities. The project works with The Trevor Project and GLSEN to provide support for young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning along with their straight allies.

What this means is for the next two weeks there will be reviews, guest posts, and discussions featuring LGBT characters, authors, and issues within the world of YA literature. I hope these posts will encourage you to pick up some of these books (if you haven't already) and see how important they are to today's teens. In a world where people read to relate or escape, there must be books available for everyone to relate to. And for those of us who are straight allies, LGBT books can be a surprisingly great escape.

Please feel free to interact in the comments! I'd love to know what people think, what they're reading, and any personal stories or experiences you'd like to share.

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week's pick is...

Bestest. Ramadan. Ever.

Medeia Sharif

Coming July 8, 2011 - Preorder it below

Indiebound | BN | Amazon | Borders

From Goodreads:

During Ramadan, we're not allowed to eat from sunrise to sunset, for a whole month. My family does this every year, even though I've been to a mosque exactly twice in my fifteen years. My exercise-obsessed mom—whose hotness skipped a generation, sadly—says I could stand to lose a few. But is torture really an acceptable method? I think not.

Things wouldn't be so bad if I had a boyfriend, but my oppressive parents forbid me to date. This is just cruel and wrong. Especially since Peter, a cute and crushable artist, might be my soul mate. Figures my bestest friend Lisa likes him, too.

To top it off, there's a new Muslim girl in school who struts around in super-short skirts, commanding every boy's attention—including Peter's. How can I get him to notice me? And will I ever feel like a typical American girl?

My thoughts:

Last year I read Skunk Girl, loved it, and immediately wished there were more books out there featuring Muslim characters. After searching Goodreads, I found this title and was surprised when I recognized its author. Medeia was actually one of my first followers. I'm so excited her book is almost here so I can finally reciprocate the support she's given me. I'm also looking forward to meeting her at ALA to thank her in person.

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass
Myra McEntire
Publisher: Egmont
Released: June 14, 2011
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 397
Source: Cavalier House Books

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

Yall. I have been writing and rewriting this review for months. Literally. I had the extreme pleasure of reading this book back in February when I had the flu, and I swear it cured me. I read it in one sitting while ignoring hunger, sleep, and Josh. It was my favorite kind of book: one that will not let me put it down and keeps me guessing to the very end. Sometimes it feels like not many books surprise me anymore, but this one did in the best possible way.

Emerson is fabulously snarky. She reminded me a little of Sophie from Hex Hall. It's like they know they're weird and everyone thinks they're freaks and they just want everyone to get over it already. I loved her sarcasm and attitude; it kept things light and humorous when the story became much darker and twisted. And Michael? Michael is buttered biscuits and honey. Just read it, and you'll see what I mean. There were so many things I didn't see coming in this novel. Even the one thing I managed to figure out ended up being far more complex than I could have imagined. Is it paranormal? Is it sci-fi? Who cares. It was fantastic.

Can we talk about the cover? Let's talk about the cover. The dress! The dress is exactly as described in the party scene at the beginning of the novel. (Easy, right? Should be, but we all know cover designers don't always look at what's inside the book for inspiration.) The girl! She's freaking walking on the wall. The wall! Okay, I don't really know what's so special about the wall, but the purple damask is very attractive. The blurb! Beth. Revis. I can practically hear Myra screaming in excitement from here. Even the title font is perfect.

This novel could easily be my favorite read of the year. The fact that it is a debut just blows me away. Myra does such a fantastic job of weaving a completely believable tale through time and space. Her characters are fun and witty, and they command the reader's full attention from the very first page. I keep being drawn to it, rereading my favorite passages dozens of times. I really don't know how I'll ever make it to next year. Must. Have. Sequel. Now!

Waiting on Wednesday (26)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week's pick is...

The Day Before

Lisa Schroeder

Coming June 28, 2011 - Preorder it below

Indiebound | BN | Amazon | Borders

From Goodreads:

Sometimes there's no turning back.

Amber's life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of her family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell that he's also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she's drawn to him. And the more she's troubled by his darkness. Because Cade's not just living in the now - he's living each moment like it's his last.

My thoughts:

I loved Lisa's Chasing Brooklyn so much that I chose it as my favorite new release of 2010. I said then that I would read anything she wrote, and I haven't changed my mind. I cannot wait for this book to come out. I have a feeling I'm going to love it.

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Imaginary Girls
Nova Ren Suma
Publisher: Dutton
Released: June 14, 2011
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352
Source: won at Teen Author Carnival

Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

With palpable drama and delicious craft, Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the YA scene with the story that everyone will be talking about.

I just featured this book last month in a Waiting on Wednesday post, and I admitted then to having no idea what it was about. Even after reading the synopsis for the first time then, and again just before reading, I was not at all prepared for what this novel had in store.

Chloe and her older sister Ruby are inseparable. Except when Chloe finds her classmate's body, she is forced to leave Ruby to live with her father. Ruby comes for her two years later and brings her home, where things are very much different, yet very much the same in a way that is very wrong. Chloe soon finds herself questioning everything she's ever known and the one person she's always loved the most.

From the very beginning of Imaginary Girls, I was pulled in by the writing. Every little thing was written with painstaking detail, making each character and every scene palpable. While the plot definitely made for a page-turner, I found myself struggling to slow down and savor each and every word. It was just beautiful and put new-to-me Nova Ren Suma on my auto-buy list (which, for the record, is not very long).

Chloe was a great main character. I loved being in her head and seeing the world through her eyes. She was perfectly flawed, and her transformation from young girl hiding in her sister's shadow to being her own person was painted vividly. I loved the way I was taken through this journey with her, as she began to understand the world around her and Ruby's true role in it. Throughout this novel, I felt like I was under Ruby's spell as well. I couldn't get through the pages fast enough - not for the end necessarily, but because I wanted needed more.

I was so excited when I found this novel in the goody bag I won at Teen Author Carnival. So excited, in fact, that it was the first book I picked up from my BEA haul. This book was so surprising - everything I thought it would be, it wasn't. It far exceeded my expectations. I sincerely hope you pick it up and feel the same way, too.

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Hereafter
Tara Hudson
Publisher: HarperTeen
Released: June 7, 2011
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 416
Source: Cavalier House Books

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Back in January I received an amazing stack of ARCs John picked up at Winter Institute. With titles like Wither and Hourglass (both of which I loved profusely), I felt like I was on a winning streak and dove into Hereafter despite my self-induced break from paranormal. Unfortunately, this was not the book I was hoping would welcome me back to the genre.

I feel like I'm one of the few bloggers who hasn't addressed the "insta-love" trend in YA. It's not that I don't see it, it's just that I typically don't have that much of an issue with it. Is it realistic to me now? No. Is it realistic to teenage me? Yes. Despite its ridiculousness, teenagers can be dramatic. I know I was. So insta-love in a lot of ways is very realistic to me in YA because my teenage life was constantly insta-fill-in-the-blank. That said, the insta-love in Hereafter - so not realistic.

I thought the story had a lot of promise. The plot definitely delivered enough to keep me reading. I just felt like after 400 pages I should care about the characters, but I didn't. None of them were developed enough to make me root for them, to make me hate them, to make me feel . . . anything. This novel lacked the emotional connection I crave while reading, which was what ultimately disappointed me.

The writing wasn't bad at all, and like I said, the story had a lot of promise. For a debut, I've certainly read much worse. I'd still be willing to give book two a try in hopes that the things lacking in book one find their way to the sequel.


Don't just take my word for it. Plenty of people enjoyed Hereafter. Here's what other bloggers had to say:
The Book Scout
A Good Addiction
Supernatural Snark

In My Bag (34) BEA Edition

In My Bag is my version of the weekly meme, In My Mailbox. IMM was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren, and it explores the contents of my mailbox or shopping bag on a weekly basis.

Yall. This list is massive. But I still took the time to link each to Goodreads because I want everyone else to be as excited about these books as I am.

SIGNED FINISHED COPIES
Brooklyn, Burning
The Absolute Value of -1
Popular
Sirenz
The Iron Queen
When the Stars Go Blue
The Year We Were Famous
Delirium
Between Here and Forever
Ten Things We Did 
The Last Little Blue Envelope
A Touch Mortal
What Happened to Goodbye

SIGNED ARCs
Perfect
Witch Eyes
The Scorpio Races
Eve
Liesl & Po
Why We Broke Up
Bunheads
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Shut Out
The Beginning of After
Crossed

FINISHED COPIES
Junonia
The Iron Witch
Lament
Ballad
Stupid Fast
Family
Dead Reckoning
In the Garden of Beasts

ARCs
Little Girl Gone
Skyship Academy
Saving June
After Obsession
Wonderstruck
Jessica Rules the Dark Side
How to Rock Braces and Glasses
Shatter Me
Flyaway
Queen of Kentucky
Wintertown
How to Save a Life
The Unwanteds
Forever
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Pure
Witches of East End
The Little Women Letters
Kill Alex Cross
Imaginary Girls (not pictured because I'm reading it now)