"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hello and Happy Wednesday everyone!!! :)

I am so excited about my pick this week. I am dying to read it and so happy to share my obsession over it with YOU! haha

Sky on Fire ( Monument 14 #2) by Emmy Laybourne

 

 

The world hasn't ended...yet.

In this sequel to MONUMENT 14, the group of survivors, originally trapped together in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, has split in two. Most of the kids are making a desperate run on their recently repaired school bus for the Denver airport where they hope to reunite with their parents, be evacuated to safety, and save their dying friend.

But the world outside is dark and filled with dangerous chemicals that turn people into bloodthirsty monsters, and not all the kids were willing to get on the bus. Left behind in a sanctuary that has already been disturbed once, the remaining kids try to rebuild the community they lost. But when the issues are life and death, love and hate, who can you really trust?

 

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I absolutely loved Monument 14, in fact, I'm a fan girl at heart! I am beyond ecstatic that this is a series and I am absolutely pining away for Sky on Fire. Did you enjoy Monument 14? Will you be reading Sky on Fire?

 

Look for it to hit stores on May 28th from Fiewel and Friends!

 

 

Review: The Deadly Sister

The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer
Release Date: May 1, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 352
Buy The Book: Amazon

From the author of School for Dangerous Girls, another suspenseful stunner about a girl who helps her sister escape from a murder charge - and then falls for the murder victim's brother.

Abby Goodwin is sure her sister Maya isn't a murderer. But her parents don't agree. Her friends don't agree. And the cops definitely don't agree. Maya is a drop-out, a stoner, a girl who's obsessed with her tutor, Jefferson Andrews...until he ends up dead. Maya runs away, and leaves Abby following the trail of clues. Each piece of evidence points to Maya, but it also appears that Jefferson had secrets of his own. And enemies. Like his brother, who Abby becomes involved with...until he falls under suspicion.
Is Abby getting closer to finding the true murderer? Or is someone leading her down a twisted false path?

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I love a good murder mystery! Especially one that challenges me and keeps me guessing. That is exactly what The Deadly Sister did! Seeing as how this book was dedicated to the author's editor, David Levithan, I shouldn't be surprised!

 

I'm not sure what it is about a murder mystery that has always kept me so fascinated. Maybe it's the race againt time. Or delving into the psychological mind. Whatever it is, this book has it in spades!

 

The main character, Abby, is determined to prove her sister's innocence, despite all the evidence stacked against her. Being a part of a dynamic sisterly duo, I really identified with this part of the story. There is nothing I wouldn't do for my sister, and vice versa.

 

I enjoyed the characteres, and the plot blew me away! I literally sat speechless with my jaw hanging open when I finally closed the book. This was so masterfully written that I think even the grand dam of murder mystery, Agatha Christie, herself would approve.

 

This was a fast paced thrilling read that will make you question just how far you are willing to go for family!

 

 

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Have you read this book? I'd love to know your thoughts so don't forget to leave a comment below!

Review: Monument 14

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 294
Buy The Book: Amazon


Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

Review: The Raft

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen
Release Date: August 21, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 231
Buy the Book: Amazon

Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft.

And then . . . she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

I am ashamed to admit I've had this book on my shelf since April. I've been eyeing it for a while, but was in such a reading funk I didn't really have the desire to pick anything up. Once I did I was totally blown away. In the first few pages the story grabs you and pulls you in, hooking you from the begining.

The story had a fantastic pace, it moved constantly and never got boring. As it went along, I was gritting my teeth, biting my nails, and racing to the next page to find out what happens next. Will Robbie and Max survive? Will they ever make it home? Will they be eaten alive by vicous sharks? GAH!!! I must know!

I devoured this book hungrily and didn't stop until I reached the last page. I read the entire thing in one sitting, and then sat back and went WOW! The entire book is amazing, from begining to end. But the ending really has you thinking " OMG that's BRILLIANT!"

I enjoyed the characters in the story. I thought the author did an incredible job portraying all of Robbie's feelings and emotions. From hopefullness, to despair. She wasn't a super strong heroine who never had doubts. Sometimes she gave up, and needed someone to push her and make her keep going. She was real and I really loved that about her!

This was a fantastic, well written, story of survival that had me totally mesmermized. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Are you a fan of survival books? Have you read this? Let me know what you think about it in the comments!

Review: Between the Lines

Between the Lines by Jodi Piccoult and Samantha Van Leer
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 358
Buy The Book: Amazon

Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

 Between the Lines was one of my most excited about books for 2012! I mean, it's Jodi freaking Picoult! Need I say more? Then to sweeten the deal, it's a fairy tale story with a present day twist . To say I squealed with delight would be an understatement. I was euphoric!

After much time admiring this pretty on my shelf, I decided to dig in. While this wasn't an all time favorite for me there were things I really did enjoy about this book. I loved the fairy tale elements and that it does have a modern day twist. 2012 was the year of re-tellings, and while I love them whole heartedly, it got to be a bit mundane. I loved that this story took place inside an actual book, a fairy tale book at that!

For me, this book started out well and then just got really, really slow. I felt like some of the scenarios were played out over and over, just with a different outcome. Towards the last of the book, I really got invested in the storyline and I couldn't wait to find out what happened on the next page. But why, oh why, couldn't you have gotten me this invested from the begining? le sigh!

All in all it was an enjoyable easy read. I loved the colorful illustrations throughout the book, much like you'd find in an old fashioned book of fairy tales. This wasn't one of my favorites for the year, but it was a cute read!

Have you read Between the Lines, or are you planning to? I'd love to know what you thought about it so don't forget to leave a comment!