Retrospective and soon-to-be-in-my-mailbox.

Stuff that happened on the blog this week:

I announced that Carol, Sarah, Hope, Zoe, Jordyn, and I are competing to see who can blog the most days in a row. I will win.

My mom reviewed If I Stay.

I'm waiting on The Red Umbrella. Found out this one doesn't really come out in summer; it comes out in May 2010. Whoo.

I told you some things that came out on May 14th. There were many.

I told a story.

I vlogged about The Demon's Lexicon, Prada and Prejudice, and Eyes Like Stars.

*Retrospective thingy was started by Steph of Reviewer X fame.

In other news:

I ordered some books this week with the gift card to B&N I won with my Debsness bag. Since I won it from the Debness bag, I thought it was fitting to buy all Debs books. These should show up this week, as they are shipping tomorrow:

[descriptions from Amazon, except for the last one, which is from B&N]:

Winnie's War by Jenny Moss

A debut novel set against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. Life in Winnie’s sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother’s distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she’s plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she’s feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk. Winnie’s take-charge attitude will empower and inspire readers, as Jenny Moss’s lyrical writing beautifully captures the big-time worries of a small-town girl.

---I love historical fiction, so I'm hoping I'm going to love this one. (:


The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading by Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance

When Bethany -- self-proclaimed geek girl -- makes the varsity cheerleading squad, she realizes that there's one thing worse than blending in with the lockers: getting noticed. She always felt comfortable as part of the nerd herd, but being a member of the most scrutinized group in her school is weighing her down like a ton of textbooks. Even her Varsity Cheerleading Guide can't answer the really tough questions, like: How do you maintain some semblance of dignity while wearing an insanely short skirt? What do you do when the head cheerleader spills her beer on you at your first in-crowd party? And how do you know if your crush likes you for your mind...or your pom-poms? One thing's for sure: It's going to take more than brains for this girl genius to cheer her way to the top of the pyramid.

---This one is officially released on Tuesday, but it's already shipping. Whoo!

Jane in Bloom by Deborah Lytton

Jane’s big sister, Lizzie, has always been the center of attention. No one ever pays attention to boring, plain Jane. But when Jane’s twelfth birthday marks the beginning of Lizzie’s fi nal descent into a fatal eating disorder, Jane discovers that the only thing harder than living in her big sister’s shadow is living without her. In the wake of tragedy, Jane learns to look through her camera lens and frame life differently, embracing her broken family and understanding that every girl has her season to blossom. Spare and vulnerable prose marks this beautiful debut that is at once heartbreaking and uplifting.

---I've heard great things about this one. Super excited to read it.



Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger

Seventeen-year-old Samar — a.k.a. Sam — has never known much about her Indian heritage. Her mom has deliberately kept Sam away from her old-fashioned family. It's never bothered Sam, who is busy with school, friends, and a really cute but demanding boyfriend.

But things change after 9/11. A guy in a turban shows up at Sam's house, and he turns out to be her uncle. He wants to reconcile the family and teach Sam about her Sikh heritage. Sam isn't sure what to do, until a girl at school calls her a coconut — brown on the outside, white on the inside. That decides it: Why shouldn't Sam get to know her family? What is her mom so afraid of? Then some boys attack her uncle, shouting, "Go back home, Osama!" and Sam realizes she could be in danger — and also discovers how dangerous ignorance can be. Sam will need all her smarts and savvy to try to bridge two worlds and make them both her own.

---When I had enough money left on the gift card to buy one hardcover, I was debating between this and The Forests of Hands and Teeth. So I brought pictures of both of them up and told the Brother to point to one. He randomly chose this one.

Three Last Things:

Who else hates when Amazon or B&N or whatever bookseller site doesn't have a description of the book? Instead they have a review as the description. I HATE THAT.

Who else has heard the song "Laughing With" by Regina Spektor? Do you love it as much as I do? I've been listening to it off of one tumblr post Courtney Summers did. I am ~*addicted*~ to it.

I'm currently reading Wings by Aprilynne Pike. I like, so far. It's an interesting take on faeries.