Top Ten Tuesday: Awesome Book Club Picks

This week's topic is to list the top ten books you think would make great book club picks. Being in an eclectic book club myself, I still stuck with YA books on this one - I just can't help it! I picked books that I think would spark good discussions, whether for controversial plots or just sheer different ideas and opinions. Plus, they are easily accessible from the library and in paperback, making them more likely to be read.

As always, the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish deserve a shoutout for hosting Top Ten Tuesday!

The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Speak

City of Bones, Shiver, and Saving June

Delirium, Thirteen Reasons Why, Between Shades of Gray, and A Blue So Dark

Review: Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala

Title: Don't Breathe a Word
Author: Holly Cupala
Publisher: HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Pages: 299
Source: Borrowed

From Goodreads:
Joy Delamere is suffocating...

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words - tender words, cruel words - until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe... if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.

***

Joy is dealing with asthma that significantly affects her life and has overprotective parents who coddle her beyond belief. Her brother resents her for being “weak” and having to take care of her growing up. And her seemingly beautiful boyfriend is abusing her, both emotionally and now physically. Having had enough, Joy escapes into the dangerous streets of Seattle, attempting to make it on her own and escape the horrors of her life. It’s out on the streets that Joy meets Creed, a boy who has his own haunting past and is struggling to start a new life. Together they begin a journey of survival and rediscovery while battling the tough streets of Seattle as homeless teenagers.

Simply put, Don’t Breathe a Word is hauntingly beautiful, perfectly depicting the horror that is emotional abuse and how to overcome the worst of situations. Holly Cupala expertly takes the reader on an emotional ride throughout the entire story, tugging at heartstrings and filling the reader with hope and a sense of rising above the odds. While Don’t Breathe a Word is hard hitting and gritty, it is filled with love, a sense of family, and knowing yourself and your limits.

I can’t recommend Don’t Breathe a Word enough and am looking forward to reading the rest of Holly Cupala’s work.

In My Mailbox (55)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren that gives readers the chance to share the books they bought/received/swapped/borrowed over the past week.

Last week Anna and I went to the Marissa Meyer and Megan Miranda signing at our local indie. I have read Fracture but not Cinder so I was stoked to buy both copies - and they're so pretty!

Marissa, me, Anna, and Megan

As some of you may know, I'm co-coordinating the DAC ARC Tours with my partner-in-crime, Lisa. We currently have 30 tours running right now and that's only for books released through the middle of March! I received The Selection from the lovely Shanyn to read and then tour, and The Queen of Kentucky tour just finished up so I'll be reading that before it's donated to a worthy cause (cause is TBD but most likely a local school library)

Ginger was nice enough to let a bunch of us borrow her copy of Where Things Come Back, and I'm next on the list.

And last but not least, I received Partials and The Princesses of Iowa from NetGalley this week. Thank you NetGalley, HarperTeen, and Candlewick Press!

Review: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Title: Bittersweet
Author: Sarah Ockler
Publisher: Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Books
Publication Date: January 3, 2011
Pages: 384

From Goodreads:
Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances… a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life…and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last...

***

As soon as I heard about Bittersweet I knew I had to read it. Any book that combines some sort of food and romance is an automatic win in my book. Mix in the fact that I still haven't read anything by Sarah Ockler and that pretty much solidified my reading of this book.

The first thing I fell in love with were the chapter titles that described the tone of the story through cupcake recipes. It's such a cute and relevant tie-in to the story and it was one of my favorite aspects of Bittersweet. 

And speaking of cupcakes... the creator of those cupcakes, Hudson, was such a believable and real character. She is going through some major stuff in her life - her dad ditched the family for another woman, her mom is making her work a ton of hours at the diner, and she's struggling with a past passion that is starting to resurface - figure skating. And then, of course, here comes the boy and Hudson is totally thrown for a loop. 

Sarch Ockler does an amazing job of walking us through Hudson's struggles and how she deals with them. I loved every single character that played a role in Hudson's life and was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire story. If Bittersweet is anything like Sarah's other books, I will most definitely be reading them soon!

Waiting on Wednesday: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases you are eagerly anticipating. 

Title: Enchanted
Author: Alethea Kontis
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Release Date: May 8, 2012

From Goodreads:
It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?

***

An enchanted frog? A handsome yet off-limits prince? Forbidden love? Yes, yes, and yes! Enchanted sounds like a fantastic story with fun elements mixed in with some heavier themes.

Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Title: Graffiti Moon
Author: Cath Crowley
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Publication Date: February 14, 2012
Pages: 272
Source: ARC from NetGalley and Random House

From Goodreads:
"Let me make it in time. Let me meet Shadow. The guy who paints in the dark. Paints birds trapped on brick walls and people lost in ghost forests. Paints guys with grass growing from their hearts and girls with buzzing lawn mowers." 

It’s the end of Year 12. Lucy’s looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about. 

His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere. 

Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow’s thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls. 

But the one thing Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.

***

Graffiti Moon takes place over one night, following the adventures of some teens out looking for a good time. I am now thoroughly convinced that I need to read every single book that takes place over one night because Graffiti Moon ROCKS!

Any book that can make me laugh out loud in public places is a win in my book, and Graffiti Moon caused me to do this more times then I would like to admit. I cracked up every single time Lucy's family was mentioned, Ed and Leo's snarky bantering back and forth, and the interactions between Lucy and Ed throughout the night. 

Cath Crowley did such an amazing job building intrigue and mystery around the characters and made them truly genuine and real. Not only did the characters leap out of the page, but the artistic elements completely added depth and dimension to the story. 

Between the poetry, artwork, and characters, Graffiti Moon is simply brilliant and a must read!

Upcoming Events at Anderson's Bookshop

My local indie bookstore, Anderson's Bookshop, has some amazing author signings and events in the coming months that I cannot wait to attend with my blogger-in-crime, Anna. If you live near Chicago or Naperville, I highly suggest checking this place it out because they always have something going on. 

I thought I'd create a little list here of the events that I'm most excited for (and something I can refer to when I need a little boost in my excitement levels!)

Marissa Meyer & Megan Miranda (authors of Cinder and Fracture)
Monday, January 23
Anna and I will be hitting this one up!

Breathless Tour
Marie Lu (Legend), Andrea Cremer (Bloodrose), Beth Revis (Across the Universe & A Millions Suns) & Jessica Spotswood (Born Wicked: the Cahill Witch Chronicles)
Wednesday, February 15
I sadly can't attend this one but anyone who can definitely should.

Dark Days of Winter Tour
Kimberly Derting (The Last Echo), Jill Hathaway (Slide), & Dan Wells (Partials) 
Thursday, April 19
This sounds full of awesome!

Ruta Sepetys (author of Between Shades of Gray)
Tuesday, April 24
I definitely want to make this one - this book was one of my absolute faves in 2011