Less Posting

My apologies for the recent lack of posting. I've been getting beaten up by a combination of the SATs and a huge, sudden homework overload. Regular posting schedule will return tomorrow!

Wanted: Review

Title: Wanted

Author: Heidi Ayarbe

Release Date: May 2012

Published By: Balzer and Bray

Pages: 400

Goodreads Rating: 4.50 stars

Review: Michal "Mike" Garcia is a seventeen-year-old bookie, and all she needs to do is send a one-word text saying "sanctuary" to gather a crowd. She takes bets but never takes a risk herself. Then Josh Ellison comes to town. He encourages her to feel the thrill, to finally participate in the thrill-seeking sport she could only watch for so long. So she does. And loses. Now she and Josh concoct a plan to steal from the rich to pay back her debt and help her friends, but then everything goes horribly, horribly awry.

WANTED introduces the readers to an intriguing new concept: a girl who doubles as a bookie, taking bets from gamblers, addicted and normal alike. Mike's job only serves to show the kind of resourceful and collected character she is, and throughout the novel, even as times became harder and harder, I admired her strength in the face of adversity.

Although Mike was an admirable character, she still had her flaws and made some decisions that, well, weren't exactly the greatest. However, unlike in some other books, her occasionally stupid decisions didn't make me dislike her or feel as if she herself is stupid. Instead, they were normal bad choices that everyone could make at one point or another and gave her more dimensionality as a character.

This novel had not only a good beginning, but an excellent ending as well. I won't reveal what happened because I don't believe in putting spoilers on my blog, but the last few pages made my eyes blur quite a bit. It was definitely not something I saw coming and left me in a state of both shock and, somehow, being content. There is a quality of this ending that leaves with you a quiet sense of satisfaction, and that's something I crave in every book.

All in all, WANTED is a novel I'd recommend to anyone who wants a gritty, hard-hitting contemporary novel. Heidi Ayarbe has proved herself time and time again to be a master at such contemporary fiction, and this book is no exception. Read this for an impacting ending and true-to-life characters that you are unlikely to forget for a long, long time.

Waiting on Wednesday (44)

This week, I'm waiting on...

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz. Here's what Goodreads has to say: Hannah Moskowitz's (author of BREAK and INVINCIBLE SUMMER) TEETH features a sixteen-year-old boy whose family, in an effort to cure his ailing brother, relocates to a remote island where legendary magic fish are said to have healing powers, and he discovers the island has terrible secrets, including a half-teenager, half-fish.

I mean, it's Hannah Moskowitz. I'm not really sure what other reason is necessary for picking up this book.

Have you heard of this book? What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Giveaway Winners!

Time to announce some giveaway winners from the All Things Asian event!

Article 5 Giveaway from Kristen Simmons: Sarah Ebbith Cruz Aponte.

Fair Coin Giveaway from E. C. Myers: Lexie May Hogan.

Swag Pack Giveaway from Vivian: Vy Le.

Congratulations to all the winners! You will be contacted shortly!