The Strawberry Picker by Monika Feth
Relase Date: September 16, 2008
Publisher: Transworld Publishers
Age Group: YA
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Intrest: Muder Mystery
Challenge: 2011 Reading Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

Eighteen-year-old Jenna is sharing an apartment in Bröhl, Germany, with her friends Caro and Merle when a girl is killed nearby. The murder seems to have parallels with two other frightening crimes. Then one day Caro is found murdered—stabbed seven times and with her necklace missing, just like the other girls. At the funeral Jenna swears revenge in front of everybody, and in turn attracts the attention of Nat, a handsome and mysterious strawberry picker. With Jenna sidetracked by love, Merle sets about solving Caro’s murder herself. But as the answer dawns on her, another horrifying reality emerges.

I've had my eye on this book for quite a while. I always love a good murdery mystery! Monika Feth is a German author who has actually written quite a few novels. However, this is the only one that was printed in english. Which is sad, because now after reading this one I want to read more from her! I guess I will have to start learning German in my spare time!

The Strawberry Picker is about 3 best friends who share a flat in Germany. Jenna, Caro, and Merle. Merle is the fiesty one, Caro is the silent one with the mysterious boyfriend, and Jenna has a famous author for a mother!

The girls become concerned when they notice their best friend Caro starting to self harm again. She's been pulling away from her best friends, and is extremely secrative about her new boyfriend. Jenna and Merle become even more alarmed when Caro doesn't come home one night. Caro, has become the latest victum of a seriel killer!

The police investigating the murders seem to be getting nowhere with the case. At Caro's funeral Jenna vows to go after the killer herself! Merle and Jenna begin their own investigation into Caro's murder! Durring their investigation they learn a lot of things about their best friend that they didn't know! Who was this guy she was dating, and why did she keep so many secrets from them?

Jenna become the next target of the seriel killer, but will the police figure it out before its too late?

I thought the author did an amazing job setting up the story and the characters! Every character had its own distinct voice, which made it helpful because the story is told from each of their perspectives, including the killer! When it switched from one narrator to the next, there were no questions as to who was talking. It was scary how charismatic the killer was, you could almost see yourself or your own best friend falling for his charm and good looks. The story really flowed and kept progressing. Towards the end of the book I was literally biting my nails! I was on edge the entire time!

Next time your in the mood for a good murder mystery pick this one up! You won't be sorry!

Does Anyone Else Play With Their Books???

Ok so I felt like this video deserved its very own post! And after you watch it , you will probably understand! I sort of have this habbit of, playing with my books from time to time. lol See video below!

It got worse. lol I also began to act out characters in diffrent voices, etc. So...I choose not to upload those videos as someone may come to cart me off for a little vacation involving an all white room and special little jackets.

I wonder though, does anyone else play with their books too? Or is it just me? I mean, this is totally normal! Right???

I am thinking of making this a weekly MEME on my blog. Like, Cristina Plays With Her Books or something. What do you think? Creepy or entertaining? If you'd like to see these every week, leave a comment and let me know!

In My Mailbox (3)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and is where we share the books we got through the week.

I was pretty lazy and didn't do one last week. So I had to make sure I did one this week! Its done in 2 parts. With a third video of me....gooofing off...and playing with my books! lol What can I say? You'll have to see it for yourself! lol

IMM -Part ONE!

Halfway through my IMM post I had to pause it. While it was paused, I had a bit of an accident. lol I fell, in a very embarassing manner.  And this was the result...

So boys and girls, the moral of the story is...don't EVER wear high heels when your dizzy! So...after cleaning myself up, a bag of frozen peas and a few advil, the vlog continues!

And after this it all basically goes downhill...lol This will be a seperate post, because...well, you'll understand why when you see the video!

Bought
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Willow by Julia Hoban
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Elixir by Hillary Duff

Gifted ( thank you Mommy!!!)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespear
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Need by Carrie Jones
Flawless by Sara Shephard
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Piercy Jackson and the Olympians The Lighting Thief by Rick Riordan
Matched by Ally Condie

For Giveaway
Anna and the French Kiss- Signed by Stephanie Perkins!!!!

Won
Dreamland by Alyson Noel

Special thanks to Stephanie Perkins! You made this an awesome giveaway! Wendy from A Cupcake and a Latte blog. Thank you so much for the giveaway! It was my first time entering, and I won! Eeek! And also a special thanks to my Mommy ( I <3 her ) for all of the books she got me!!!

Well folks, thats all I got in my mailbox this week! I'd love to hear what you got in your mailbox this week! Leave me a comment or a link to your blog! Hope your all having a fantastic week ! And beware of highheels!

TBR Intervention Challenge (1)

When I saw this challenge I was really excited about it! I have over 200 books in my TBR list! I am ashamed to admit that! lol So yes, I am in need of an intervention! Don't worry though, I don't own all the books on my TBR list! They are just books I've been wanting to read! So this is the perfect challenge!

TBR Intervention is a weekly challenge
hosted by Dani@RefractedLight , Ayanami@Whatever you Can Still Betray, and April@Books4Juliet


The goal of this challenge is to help each other (fellow readers and bloggers) manage our enormous and constantly growing TBR (To-Be-Read) List

When Clay Jenson plays the casette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he's surprised to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who receive Hannah's story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night listening to Hannah's voice and going to the locations she wants him to visit. The text alternates, sometimes quickly, between Hannah's voice (italicized) and Clay's thoughts as he listens to her words, which illuminate betrayals and secrets that demonstrate the consequences of even small actions. Hannah, herself, is not free from guilt, her own inaction having played a part in an accidental auto death and a rape. The message about how we treat one another, although sometimes heavy, makes for compelling reading. Give this to fans of Gail Giles psychological thrillers. Dobrez, Cindy

Why I picked this book? I picked Thirteen Reasons Why because I have had it sitting on my shelf for more than 6 months! I've heard so many good things about it and everytime I read the synopsis it sounds like a haunting story! I always wonder, why do I never get around to reading that one! So this week it is going to the top of my TBR list!

Have YOU read it yet? If so I'd love to know what you think! And don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know what you've bumped up to the top of your TBR list this week!

October Giveaway!

Hey Everyone!

I had a really hard time thinking of what my giveaway would be for this month. It just didn't seem like there would be anyway to top last months. But, I think I came up with a pretty awesome giveaway that I'm really excited about! And I hope you will be too!

It's been really hard to keep it a secret and not spill the beans. lol But I have dropped a few hints here and there!

I am also trying out a new way of entering. It should be MUCH easier to use! So I'm hoping it will! If so it will make doing many more giveaways possible!

So for the October Giveaway, I will be giving away ONE autographed copy of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, plus a matching bookmark! Eeek!!! Are you excired??? You should be!

Anna Oliphant has big plans for her senior year in Atlanta: hang out with her best friend, Bridgette, and flirt with her coworker at the Royal Midtown 14 multiplex. So she is none too happy when her father sends her off to boarding school in Paris. However, things begin to look up when she meets Étienne St. Clair, a gorgeous guy–with a girlfriend. As he and Anna become closer friends, things get infinitely more complicated. Will Anna get her French kiss? Or are some things just not meant to be?



"Magical. Anna and the French Kiss really captures the feeling of being in love." - Cassandra Clare, author of The Mortal Instruments series

"From the magical streets of Paris to its charming narrator, Anna and the French Kiss has it all. A wonderfully winning book!" --Robin Benway, author of Audrey, Wait! and The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June

"No one captures the exhilarating and exhausting `but-does-he-like-me?!' question better than Stephanie Perkins. A scrumptious read." --Justina Chen, author of North of Beautiful

"Very sly. Very funny. Very romantic. You should date this book." --Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Scarlett Fever

"Smart and sensual, Anna and the French Kiss is everything your heart is longing for. You'll want to live inside this story forever. More, s'il vous pla”t!" --Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of the Wake Trilogy

"Imagine a mug of rich, thick hot chocolate. Now add a swirl of sweet whipped cream. Yummy? Oui. Well, Anna and the French Kiss is richer, sweeter, and--yes--even hotter. You're in for a very special treat." --Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author of Peace, Love and Baby Ducks and Let It Snow

"Perkins's debut surpasses the usual chick-lit fare with smart dialogue, fresh characters and plenty of tingly interactions . . . Sarah Dessen fans will welcome another author who gracefully combines love and realism." --Kirkus, starred review

There will only be ONE winner this time! So make sure you take advantage of the extra ways to enter and goodluck!

All These Things I've Done

All These Things I've Done ( Birthright ) by Gabrielle Zevin
Relase Date: September 6, 2011
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Age Group: YA
Format: Hardcover
Source: Own
Intrest: Dystopian
Challenge: 2011 Reading Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

 

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Typically I am attracted to books because of the cover art. With this book, I heard so many great things about it. So when I was getting ready to go to Austin Teen Book Festival 2011 I was excited to find out that among the great authors that were going, was Gabrielle Zevin! It was hard for me to pick just 4 books to buy there and get autographed. Trust me, I was biting my nails, trying to figure out which one to buy. I was intrigued by the description of the book, and all the good things I'd heard about it. I am so glad that I chose this one! It is incredible!

All These Things I've Done is a story about Anya, or "Annie". Set in the future at a time when chocolate and coffee are illegal! ( Ok I would just like to insert here, that I would DIE without chocolate. Ok maybe thats a little on the dramatic side, but still! No chocolate??? Who would WANT to live is the better question! ) They are only available in the black market, through the mafia! Eeek!

This is where Annie and her family come in! Annie's family the Balanchine's, family business has always been making chocoalte! This creates a bit of a problem, when chocolate is illegal! The Balanchine family become the head of the chocolate mafia! No joke! Annie's parents both die, due to a mob hit. Annie is left to take care of her brother Leo, her sister Natty, and her ailing grandmother. All she has to do is stay under the radar until she turns 18 and can get legal gaurdianship of her brother and sister.

Little does Annie know that her world is about to be turned upside down when she unknowingly gives her boyfriend a candy bar, or two, laced with a potent and fatal drug! She becomes the primse suspect of his attempted murder, and is thrown into a juvenille detention center. So much for staying under the radar now! Annie falls in love with Winn the District Attourney's son, which only complicates things. As much as she tries, Annie can't escape her families "buisness" for long!

I absolutely adore this book and highly recommend it! I couldn't put it down! It was fast paced book that was a joy to read. I loved Annie's character, as well as the others in the book. Gabrielle did an incredible job with All These Things I've Done. She painted a very vivid picture of the future, and the characters! I can totally see some of these things happening in the future! Water, food and clothing being rationed!

All These Things I've Done is an original story full of love, loss, tragedy, family loyalty, and illegal substances! ( We mean chocoalte and coffee! ) It's a fast paced read that will keep you entertained from start to finish!

I am so glad that this is going to be a trilogy! I enjoyed this book so much and I can't wait to read what happens next to Annie and her misfit friends!

Eve

Eve by Anna Carey
Release Date: October 04, 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Source: borrowed
Intrest: Cover Whore
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge and 2011 Reading Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

In this epic new series, Anna Carey imagines a future that is both beautiful and terrifying. Readers will revel in Eve’s timeless story of forbidden love and extraordinary adventure.

I was really excited about reading this book. The cover is beautiful and the story sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, I have a sort of bittersweet love/hate relationship with Eve.

Typically I usually love the main charachter of any book. I wish I could say that with Eve, but I can't. I didn't hate her, but there was just nothing there that drew me to her and made her more personable and endearing. There were several charachters in this book that I did love, but for me Eve wasn't one of them. Which is sad, because this story is mostly about her!

This book is set in the future, which I love! And I have to admit, I can totally see the things that happen in this book, happening at some point in the future. But I did have a problem with the time period. The book is set about 5 to 8 years into the future, although they never really state when, you just have to do the math and figure it out yourself! While I can definately see something like that happening in the future, I honestly don't feel like it would be happening so near in the future. I think it would've been more believeable if it was set a little further into the future. At least for me, anyways.

It's a really fast paced read, which I enjoyed. It's definately the type of book that you can read and finish in one day! Anna Carey did not waste time keeping the story moving, or on long needless descriptions. It's refrshing  to pick up a book that you can read quickly, without having to spend a lot of time trying to keep the story straight or figure out what's going on.

I have to say, the ending was a huge disappointment for me, and really knocked this book from a must have it, to an I can live without owning it. Eve spent probably 200 pages trying to reach a safe place where she and Caleb, the boy she loves can live and be safe, together. Unfortunately, there is not happy ending for these two, and it made the 200 pages before it a bit pointless for me. This is the first in the triology, and I will for sure be reading the next one when it comes out. I would like to see what happens with Eve, but mostly with some of the other charachters in the book.

This was not at all a bad book, just not quite the epic read it promised to be.