Hey, what’s this? A new feature? Yep. This is just some of the highlights I’ve encountered while digging through my Google reader feed, YouTube, Goodreads, and Twitter.
Reviews Worth Reading
Convincing, entertaining, well-written or all of the above, these reviews are worth your time.
Subway Girl by P.J. Converse is, according to John, on the more “literary side of YA”, which is probably why I shied away from reading it. But John’s review of Subway Girl is starting to convince me that I may have to give it a shot.
Another book that I really didn’t hear much of, Rather Be Reading spotlights Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews.
I didn’t know one of my favorite MG authors, Jordan Sonnenblick was coming out with a new book in March until I read this review of Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip written by Abby the Librarian.
Read All About It: Articles & Discussion
Helpful tips and tricks & interesting bookish debates, articles, and discussion on the blogosphere.
You can never get enough advice on ARCs. Read Literary Exploration’s article about how ARCs are not free.
On ARCs, Ethics and Speaking Up … AKA please don’t buy ARCs.
Pure Imagination gives some tips and tricks on how to move to WordPress!
Added on GoodReads
What caught my eye on GoodReads and was added to the pile. After all the award buzz about this book, I just have to pick it up! … Eventually.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Filled with mystery, romance, and the supernatural, The Raven Boys introduces readers to Richard “Dick” Campbell Gansey, III and Blue Sargent. Gansey has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on the hunt to find Glendower, a vanished Welsh king. Legend has it that the first person to find him will be granted a wish—either by seeing him open his eyes, or by cutting out his heart.
Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there—known as Raven Boys—can only mean trouble. When Gansey and his Raven Boy friends come into her life, Blue realizes how true this is. She never thought her fortune would be a problem. But she was wrong.
Terrific Trailers
This trailer convinced me to add the book to my TBR pile!
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Digging Through the Stacks, Memes - Author: Madeleine L'Engle, Author: Maggie Stiefvater, Book: A Wrinkle in Time, Book: The Raven Boys | 
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My Top 10 Book Boyfriends based on books I’ve read this year. In no particular order, of course, (except probably for Etienne…) because that wouldn’t be fair:
- Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: Well duh. No one can do better than this English American Masterpiece. Swoon.
- Dimitri Belikov from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead: Okay, I like older guys. Specifically, this brooding, forbidden older guy. This good guy turned bad turned good again. A Russian accent has never been any sexier.
- Jack from Blood Red Road by Moira Young: my review of the book summed up everything I love about Jack – “arrogant, charming, overly-confident, but also more than meets the eye.”
- Cricket Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: Cricket Bell is almost way too good to be true. He’s intelligent, super polite and nice, and very very stylish. Do guys like this really exist in real life? Well if they do, I haven’t met my real-life Cricket yet.
- Aiden from Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Are you seeing a trend right now? Another broody, mysterious book boyfriend made it on the list. Aiden gets super plus points for having gray/silver eyes (yes, that’s because of my Draco Malfoy obsession. PSH. ANOTHER BROODY CHARACTER!!! :P)
- Cole St. Clair from the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater: Broody and mysterious BUT also highly intelligent. Sam always gets the attention in this series, but for me Cole gets the prize as one of the top ten hunky fictional men because he’s such an underdog.
- James Easton from the Agency series by YS Lee: Not your typical hero in a historical novel. James is quite witty and he’s a talented civil engineer. He’s also quite charming.
- Nico Rathburn from Jane by April Lindner: Um, modern day Mr. Rochester? YES PLEASE. Did I mention he’s a rockstar? Extra points to Nico.
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Memes - Author: April Lindner, Author: Jennifer L Armentrout, Author: Maggie Stiefvater, Author: Moira Young, Author: Richelle Mead, Author: Stephanie Perkins, Author: YS Lee, Book: Anna and the French Kiss, Book: Blood Red Road, Book: Half-Blood, Book: Jane, Book: Lola and the Boy Next Door, Series: Dustlands, Series: The Agency, Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls, Series: Vampire Academy | 470 words
THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater
Publication Date: October 18th 2011 by Scholastic Press
Rating: 
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Summary: It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
Review Overview:
- Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is breath-taking. It continues to impress me.
- The concept of the capaill uisce was fascinating
- The plot was a little slow for my tastes; there was definitely a lot of character-building.
Like any other book that I know I’m going to read, I pretty much dove into THE SCORPIO RACES blind. I did not read any reviews. I merely skimmed the back of the ARC – which ended up telling me nothing about the book, a little to my dismay. And I refused to read any summaries that would tell me what the book is about. I knew the book was going to be about horses. The cover pretty much gives it away. But not just any horses: capaill uisce - magical killer water horses. Huh.
The concept behind this book is actually pretty cool. At first, I was really confused because I’d never heard of this mythical / legendary creature before. But after a few chapters, it was so easy to get hooked onto the idea of capaill uisce. They are such beautiful creatures and you can count on Stiefvater to describe them to you with precision. It actually made a lot of sense to read the Author’s Note at the end of the book because it gave me insight as to how Stiefvater came around to writing about magical killer water horses and background on the different variations of the myth. I wouldn’t recommend reading the Author’s Note before reading the book. I think it’s best to discover the magic of capaill uisce yourself first.
The prose is fantastic. Stiefvater writes so beautifully and THE SCORPIO RACES is no exception. Sometimes I forget just how much I love the way Stiefvater crafts a sentence, but I’m immediately reminded of that fact from the very first page of starting one of her books.
There is a bit of romance in THE SCORPIO RACES and I am stunned by the way Stiefvater just pulls it off effortlessly. There is a slow build up so it is definitely realistic. The novel isn’t about an epic love story like the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, but there are just some scenes that made me positively giddy. The romance is sweet and touching. Stiefvater is able to portray realistic young love without being overly sappy.
THE SCORPIO RACES is just about on the threshold on being a 4-star review. I really wanted to give this book a 4-star rating just for the sake of beautiful writing, but I felt like the plot was a bit lacking. It’s true that I did read it in more or less a day, but I also felt like I could easily have stopped reading and walked away. There is not as much mystery to this novel. Essentially, the plot can be summed up in a sentence: girl and boy (in this case Puck and Sean) want to compete in the Scorpio Races, a race involving magical killer water horses. The book itself is more character driven than plot driven. The novel unfolds as the races get closer, and the characters grow and go through self-discovery.
THE SCOPRIO RACES is good, but the pacing is just a little bit slow for me. I needed a little bit something more fast-paced. This book is perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater. If you’re in love with her writing, you won’t be disappointed with this one. Furthermore, I would recommend this to lovers of horses, mythology and lore, and fantasy.
Why I’m Biased: Maggie Stiefvater is also one of my favorite authors. Therefore, I rate her on a much harsher scale since I always have high expectations for authors whose work I love.
Other Reviews:
Gone with the Words
Nice Girls Read Books
About the Author
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Find the Author
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All of Maggie Stiefvater’s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you’re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she’s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She’s made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.
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Book Review, Three Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Maggie Stiefvater, Book: The Scorpio Races, Borrow It, Genre: Fantasy, Poetic Prose, Publisher: Scholastic Press | 1199 words
- Action Packed
- Hahaha Funny
- Keeps You Guessing
- Heartwarmer
- Makes You Think
- Masterful World-Building
- Must Buy
- Page-Turner
- Romantic Read
- Tear-Jerker
