"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming novels that we're all eagerly anticipating.
It's been way, way too long since I've done a "Waiting On" Wednesday but here it is my fellow book lovers... this is the book that I would sell my soul for because you know, what use is my soul right now when I could have this book?!
Expected publication: October 15th 2013 by Dutton Children's
Summary (from Goodreads):
After spending an amazing day and night together in Paris, Just One Year is Willem's story, picking up where Just One Day ended. His story of their year of quiet longing and near misses is a perfect counterpoint to Allyson's own as Willem undergoes a transformative journey, questioning his path, finding love, and ultimately, redefining himself.
I know that there isn't very long to wait for Just One Year, just a couple more months, but I have recently finished Just One Day and I just.. I just.. I can't deal with this waiting.
Have you seen that cover!?
I can't even find the words right now. If you haven't read Just One Day, I order you to read it right this second, you will not regret is, Gayle Forman is such an amazing author and Just One Day honestly blew my mind.
I need this book.
Are you waiting for this book too? Fangirl with me! What other books can you not wait for this week? Please comment below with the title and author of the book you're most anticipating or a link to your own "Waiting on" Wednesday because I feel like torturing myself by finding new awesome books with far away expected publication dates. Yeaaah!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
I've started doing Teaser Tuesday again! Yay! I absolutely adored Hannah Harrington's Saving June and I'm really hoping Speechless will be another instant favourite. I've only just started the book so I don't know much yet but here you go.. my teaser :)
"I don't associate with freaks.
Except this particular freak won't stop staring at me, and it's a chore to act like I'm concentrating on this math homework, so I write I'm Chelsea and slide it to the corner of the desk so she can see. Maybe now she'll leave me alone."
Have you read this book already? Am I going to dislike this girl? Ahhh! A little scared to read this now...
Anywhoo.. what is your Teaser Tuesdays this week? I'd love to have a look so please do tell me your teasers or a link to your own Teaser Tuesdays in the comments. :)
Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. After. Nothing is ever the same. Perhaps John Green just isn't for me. It's true that I've only two of his works but the two that I have read (The Fault in Our Stars and now, Looking for Alaska) are, I believe, his most highly regarded novels.
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy The Fault In Our Stars or Looking for Alaska, I did, it's just that I didn't feel as emotionally invested with the characters as most people and I wasn't too affected by the events that took place in the two novels.
Similar to most readers I didn't completely predict or expect what was going to take place in Looking for Alaska, I knew that something would happen due to the '*insert number here* Days Before' chapter headings leading up to the turning event but I didn't think it would be what it was. (I'm trying to make this review spoiler free but it's pretty hard and I'm not sure if that sentence made too much sense.) The use of the Before count down chapter headings is awesome, it builds up so much tension knowing that something is going to happen soon. The After headings, also, are very effective, the change from Before to After just really shows the importance and effect of the event to everybody involved.
The characters were interesting to read about but I can't say I liked them very much which is probably why I wasn't very emotionally invested in them or what happens in their lives. I wasn't very keen on Miles' insta obsession with Alaska Young, to be fully honest, I didn't find Miles or any of his new friends to be likable either. While as a teenager, I can understand teenage angst, these characters seemed to drown in self pity and angst. They are judgmental and try to find any way to separate themselves from other people such as the 'Weekday Warriors vs. the poor' feud. There's something the Colonel, Miles' room mate and friend, says about a rival school about how the only thing he hates more than rich kids is rich and stupid kids which really irked me. Also, I found Alaska to be too unpredictable and too blunt to be very enthralling. However, on the up side, I found it compelling to read about Miles' change in the novel from lost and pretty much just existing and not really living to meeting his new friends and coming out of his shell to really appreciate life.
The lack of the characters doing stuff other than getting drunk and pulling pranks didn't bother me. I actually found the philosophical thinking and the characters trying to answer big questions one of the best parts of Looking for Alaska. The religion class which triggered a lot of this thinking added to the book a great deal and it really reminded me of my own philosophy classes at school which was pretty cool.
I feel like an uber bitch for not loving this (because have you seen John Green on Tumblr or Youtube.. he's such an awesome guy) and I do wish I liked it more but... alas, the characters really pulled this down for me. I recommend that if you haven't read Looking for Alaska or The Fault in Our Stars that you do because most people really do love them to bits and you'll probably love it too. I am an anomaly guys. I will probably read more John Green books because he is a great writer, I think it's just that I haven't found the book of his that... fits me yet. :)
Music choice: Miles finding a place where he belongs is one of my favourite things about Looking for Alaska so.. This Is Home by Switchfoot
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.
SOMEBODY TAKE ME TO AN UNFAMILIAR PLACE AND GET LOST WITH ME. I WANT TO FALL IN LOVE AND PERHAPS EVEN STAY IN LOVE. I WANT TO MAKE A TRUE FRIEND WHO ENCOURAGES ME TO FIND HAPPINESS. I WANT TO JUMP AND TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH.
There are endless reviews of Just One Day on this wonderful world we call the internet and the majority of them say that this novel is an amazing one of personal growth and love. They say that Forman is an exquisite storyteller who seems to craft realistic, complicated and enthralling characters with ease. And I agree.. completely and wholly. But I never doubted this; I never doubted Just One Day would be beautifully written or that characters would evoke an array of emotions in me. After reading If I Stay and Where She Went for me the layered characters and raw storytelling of Just One Day was a given that Forman.
What I didn't completely expect was the effect Just One Day has on me. While reading If I Stay and Where She Went I empathised with the characters, I cried for them and I wanted them to get there happily ever after and while I felt the same things for the characters of Just One Day, I also felt like the story really changed me. I don't think I've read a book that has ever affected me in a way like this one has.
At the beginning when Allyson is surrounded by her tour group but feels so disconnected, I knew Just One day would be an instant favourite for me because Forman seemed to put into words how being alone and being lonely are two completely different things. When Allyson watched the Guerilla Will performance of Twelfth Night I wanted to go out and find something that made my eyes shine with awe. When Allyson got lost in Paris with Willem I wanted to immerse myself somewhere. The moment Allyson told her guidance counselor that she didn't know what to do and she didn't want to disappoint her parents, it struck a chord in me. Everything Allyson does or feels in this book either made me feel understood or made me want to take control of my own life.
What I'm trying to say really is that not only is this book gorgeously written and not only is the love story heartbreaking, Just One Day is inspiring and the emotions appear to fly off the pages and inhabit your very core.
I definitely recommend Just One Day to all of you, it isn't exactly a light summer read but it is a damn good book written by a damn good author. There's no question as to if I'll read Just One Year, reading this book barely gave me any information about Willem and getting inside his head will just be insane.
Music choice: This song has been playing on the radio non stop at the moment and I heard it again a couple of hours ago and all I could think of was this book...
Stuck In My Head is a new weekly meme, hosted here, that spotlights the songs you just can't seem to get out of your head.
Hey guys! I thought I'd start a meme up so I could share with y'all my very favourite tunes and just generally what is constantly being replayed each week. For this week it is most definitely the song Resolution by Matt Corby... I discovered this little gem on an advert of Youtube and it is one of the few adverts that I haven't skipped, I guess it was love and first listen. ;)
Since then I have uncovered that Matt Corby is an Australian singer-songwriter who was on the 2007 Australian Idol when he was just 16 ((I'm 16 and this little fact makes me feel a little failure-ish.. why must so many people have achieved so much by the age of 16!? eh?)) and he finished the competition runner up but continued to work on his music career.
Anywaays, it may have taken 6 years for me to find out about Corby but I'm definitely going to be listening to more of his music after listening to Resolution, his voice is amazing and I think I might just love the guy.
Please do share your Stuck In My Head in the comments or a link to your own Stuck In My Head posts. I would love to have a look and perhaps discover some new favourite artists. Feel free to discuss why you love your pick(s) so much and if you're a book blogger like myself, whether or not your pick(s) remind you of a book you have read or are reading! :)
