BED4 Day #1: Introduction

Hello everyone! This is my first time participating in Blogging Every Day in April (BED4), even though Becky has tried to get me involved for the past 4 years. I had no excuse this year to not participate, so I was stuck when she asked the other day ;-)

I'll just do this first post as an introduction of myself since I don't know many of you.

My name's Jeraca, I just got my Master's in Library and Information Science, now currently looking for a job (which is a tedious task, I tell ya), and in my spare time I watch TV shows/movies, occasionally enjoy the nice weather outside, read mainly Young Adult novels (which I try to post on this blog as often as possible), and I love ice cream.

Oh! Happy April Fool's Day! It's also a special day today since it's Brandee's, my dog, 12th birthday! Here's a picture of the birthday girl:

This was her last year on her birthday with her new
presents - I haven't gotten around to take one today yet.

She's currently doing her usual routine - sleeping on her side of my bed with the blanket shown above. Maybe we'll have a little "celebration" later on today.

Now, onto the BED4 idea I have.

Since this year we don't have a set topic/theme for every day, I'm going to try to connect my BEDA posts with my YA blog (I want to try to keep up with my book reviews). Whatever book I review during Monday-Friday I'll take a theme from the book and put myself in the character's position. I don't know how long this will last, but I think it will be fun and you're more than welcome to chime in on your ideas for the theme/question I come up with from the book.

Or if you've read the book and remember something else from it, you can certainly talk about that instead.

I'll have two posts Monday-Friday (or I'll try if I keep up with my readings every week) so you can read my reviews if you like or you can just skip to the BED4 post.

Okay, time to give my dog her present! I'll "see" ya around throughout the month, and it will be nice to meet everyone! :-)

Take Me There by Carolee Dean

Living on the wrong side of town is always tough, but Dylan has learned the rules the hard way. After being in juvie with his friend, Wade, Dylan has decided to live life the right way: no drugs, booze, hijacking cars, nothing.

Now he works at a car dealership - legally. Things don't always go as planned though, Dylan finds out.

After making another horrible mistake, Dylan and Wade are on the run. Dylan wants to meet his father, who's been in prison in Texas for the past 11 years. Dylan wants to find out how his father got on the wrong side of the tracks and if there was any hope to steer clear of his father's footsteps.

Dylan wants to lead a good life so he can be with the love of his life: Jess. She is the best thing that has happened to Dylan and he wants to see if he can change and be the guy that she deserves.

When meeting his father, Dylan realizes that he's not the man he pictured. His father is calm, studious, and definitely doesn't seem like he killed a man. But whenever Dylan brings up that day, his father clams up and refuses to talk to Dylan again.

As the last few days of his father's life withers away, Dylan starts putting the pieces of the puzzle together about what happened that night and how Dylan's life could possibly end up.

Will the Texas government grant Dylan's dad another chance? Will he be executed? Will Dylan be able to live a crime free life with Jess, or is he fated to the same life as his father lived for the past 11 years? Read Take Me There by Carolee Dean to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a great novel! Not only was there some romance between Dylan and Jess, but there was mystery and crime to keep the reader in a lot of suspense until the very end of the book.

When reading about Dylan's troubles with the local gang in California, I was reminded of the book Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. By Carolee Dean created a different world where Dylan was able to run away from that life - even if it was just for a little while before it caught up to him.

I really enjoyed getting to know Dylan's father the most out of this novel. The reader was able to see what it was like to be in jail for 23 hours every day - stuck in the same cell with the same walls.

The mystery part was also a great add to the story. Dylan knew deep in his heart his father couldn't have killed the cop - especially because the cop was his father's closest friend.

The more Dylan thought about it, the more he remembered things from that night - including the fact that he was at the location the night of the murder when he was 6 years old.

I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone! It's written through Dylan's perspective, giving teen guys a chance to get into another guys head and really understand what it must feel like to be stuck in a bad situation and feel like everything they believed in was a lie.

I will say that there might be content unsuited for younger audiences, but older teens and adults would definitely enjoy this story and the mystery that is solved by the end of the novel.

Hail Caesar by Thu-Huong Ha

John Miller, better known as "Caesar" with his God-like attribute to play basketball and get any girl he looks at, got a wake up call when he was almost run over by the new girl.

It's John's senior year in high school - the best year where he doesn't have to do anything and can have fun before going off to college to have more fun. That was before the first day of school came.

Senior year didn't go very well. John's 13-year-old sister, Kelly starts to act rebelliously. It might be because she's going into high school next year, or she feels abandoned since John will be leaving after the school year. All John knows is that he has no idea what to do or how to fix the mistakes she making.

Partying and random acts aren't cutting it for John anymore, which is making him lose the friends he's had for years.

And there's Eva. The new girl. The girl who will change John's life forever. He can't use his "Caesar" charm on her - it doesn't work. She talks non-stop about absolutely nothing and, after awhile, gets John to open up about topics he's never even dreamed of.

So when John labels Eva as "The Girl" - and many firsts for him - their relationship is strained and he's unsure what to do. He's never been in this situation.

One thing is for sure - things will not be the same after senior year.

My Thoughts/Reflections
Ah Caesar. There is always the one guy who is like Caesar in high school. It's just, this time, we get to read what goes through those types of guys.

This book was written through John's perspective, showing the reader what 1) guys think like and 2) what popular, cocky guys think about.

I was not expecting the ending that Thu-Huong Ha created. I'm not going to tell you what it is, but it definitely wasn't what I saw coming. Which is refreshing, cause it got me thinking - normally that doesn't happen because I never have to think about an ending that I predicted.

I liked both John and Eva's character, but I was unsatisfied with the dialogue throughout the novel. It was very choppy and strained - which is how John and Eva conversed, I know, but it was a little hard to follow sometimes.

I would recommend this book to any teenager - especially guys. I think guys would relate to this story even if they aren't popular or in a sport because John is forced to deal with a girl that he has never encountered before and doesn't know how to talk to her - which I think is very ideal for any teenage boy wanting to talk to a girl.

Also, I love how the author was 16-years-old when she wrote this!! She is very attuned for her young age and I think she did well for such a young author to write about boys her own age. Makes me wonder what I was doing at that age... certainly not writing a novel!

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan

For 2 years, Kristi has been able to hear other people's thoughts. It makes it hard for Kristi to have any close friends, but she's been alone for awhile now so she's used to the solitude.

Also, people think she's sort of weird with her heavy make-up, clothes that she makes herself from random items (some of which comes from the dumpster), and silent attitude.

After getting paired with an old crush - Gusty Peterson - for a partner project, Kristi battles with herself if Gusty thinks she's weird or attractive. The vibe between the two is hard for Kristi to grab, so she goes on a roller coaster ride with her inner thoughts.

When a new guy comes to her school, she realizes that Mallory (the new guy) is attracted to her. While Kristi isn't as attracted to him as she was with Gusty, Gusty is out of her league, so she goes along with Mallory to see if things could work out between them.

On top of all of Kristi's problems, her father who left home 2 years ago decides to come back and see Kristi and her mother. The news he brings with, though, definitely doesn't help Kristi's crazy world she suddenly lives in.

My Thoughts/Reflections
This book wasn't what I was expecting. There is a little bit of a twist at the end, which was nice, and I thought it would have more to do with music because of the cover. However, Kristi just listened to a lot of classical music when she didn't want to hear anyone's thoughts after a long day - it wasn't a huge part of the story.

I liked Gusty. He's a popular, good-looking guy on the outside, but he's also a shy, timid guy that no one realizes too often - except Kristi after she gets to know him through their project together.

Kristi is a girl that any teenage girl can relate to. She thinks she's overweight, she has her own personality and style of clothes that makes all of her classmates jealous, but she thinks they are making fun of her behind her back, and she has a rebellious side with her parents that all teenagers do, even if their parents don't realize it at the time.

I think this would be a great novel for teen girls. Even if the readers haven't experienced most of the events that Kristi went through, there was enough events that happened that any reader can relate to something that happens.

This was a good stand-alone book and I liked Ryan's style of writing: fast paced, easy to fly through, and relateable.

Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey

The year is AD 1192 and Tess lives in a small town with her mother and father, the blacksmith in town. In this world, the contact between humans, dragons and faeries is very thin. They are enemies and don't enjoy each others company, which is why the Dragonswood is off limits to humans.

Tess loves going into the woods, though. She can't explain the urge to her friends, which is why she keeps it a secret.

However, when Tess is accused of being a witch and escapes the witch test, she has to go into the woods to escape the hunters looking for her to kill her.

Enter Garth, Tess's knight and shining armor who takes in Tess and her friends while on the run. The more they stay in Dragonswood, the more each girl doesn't want to go back to the "human side" of the woods. After making sure Tess's friends are content and happy with their stay, Tess decides she needs to figure out what is calling to her in the woods.

Tess got closer to the royal grounds, the fey grounds, on her search, which ironically answered her question as to what was drawing her to the fey world: Tess is half fey, half human. Now she is being prepared to meet the dragon princes's - to see if an old prophecy will come true: where all three species will comes as one, Fey, Human, Dragon.

My Thoughts/Reflections
Dragons! I haven't read a story with dragons in it for awhile, so I loved the change in topic and scenery. Being in the Fey world and reading about different gifts that some characters have was walking into a new world!

I also loved the character Tess. She was abused at her home with her mother and stepfather, so she was leery about trusting anyone at all. She could also take care of herself and was very brave when she needed to be.

Even though there was a lot of information in this story, I was able to follow all of it and was grateful how detailed the author got to explain the setting and location. I could see the scenery and I especially loved the details when the author described the dragons!

I think this could be a great book for teens and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes dragons or faeries as both are a major theme in this novel. From what I can tell, I think it's a stand alone novel and there wasn't a cliffhanger, so it can be a nice easy read for teens!

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Reckoning - #3 and Final book in the Darkest Powers Series by Kelley Armstrong. 

Click here: The Summoning for the review of the first book in the series and here: The Awakening for the review of the second book in the series. 

**NOTE** There will be SPOILERS in this review from the first two novels in this trilogy. 

Just when Chloe Saunders thought she escaped from the corporation she was running from, she's right back in the middle of it as an experimental test.

Chloe, Simon, Derek, and Tori have been saved by Andrew and taken into hiding. They don't feel safe, though, especially because Lauren, Chloe's aunt, and Rae are stuck in the facility that Chloe and Tori escaped from.

While hiding out, Andrew's co-workers come in and try to help the teenagers with their powers - each specializes in the abilities Simon, Chloe and Tori have.

When Chloe's mentor, Margaret, takes Chloe to a cemetery, Chloe is very uncertain she should be there - considering she can raise the dead without even trying. When the test trial goes wrong and Margaret sees just how powerful Chloe is, Margaret thinks that they need to get more help since she's unqualified for the job.

That's how all of the mentors think when they see the teenagers try their powers.

After getting ambushed by other werewolves, Derek and Chloe find out that Andrew was part of a mission to get all of the teenagers under one place, watched by guards.

So it seems the teenagers went from one prison to another.

The main mission the teenagers are on is to find Derek and Simon's father. He will help them out and know what to do.

Will the teenagers have to run for the rest of their lives? Can they finally break free from the prisons they are always being taken to? Read this final installment of the Darkest Powers Series to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a great finish to this series! I like how it was just as action packed as the first two, making the reader zip through the pages to find out what happens in the end.

Knowing it was the final book, I was anxious to find out the ending, and I just loved it! Everything gets resolves, and while there may be a story with Chloe and the guy that she picks (not going to say because I want to keep something non spoilery), I'm overall really happy with how things ended.

I would definitely recommend all three of these books to other readers! It's definitely different than the novels written today and we get to experience different types of supernatural (necromancer, werewolf, sorcerer, witch, demons, etc.) so it's not just one type of paranormal species.

If the author decided to make another novel continuing their story, I wouldn't mind that either, but for now, I'm very content as to how this novel finished! :)

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening - #2 in the Darkest Powers Series by Kelley Armstrong

Click here: The Summoning for my review of the first book in the series.

**NOTE** There Might Be Spoilers in this review for the first novel in the series. 

Chloe Saunders used to be an ordinary girl. That was before she found out she was a necromancer - a person who can raise, talk, and summon the dead spirits. Now, Chloe and her friends she made at the Lyle House (Derek, Simon, Liz, Rae, and Tori) are running away from the authorities that kept them in the house.

They wanted to run tests on all of the teenagers because they are supernatural. Derek is a werewolf, Simon is a sorcerer, Liz (who was killed but her ghost lives on) is telekinetic, Rae can manipulate fire, and Tori is a witch.

Together, Derek, Simon, Chloe, Tori and Liz are working as a group to get away from the "scientists" who want to run experiments on them to figure out their powers.

When the group reaches a close friend of Derek and Simon's father, they find out that Andrew used to be a part of the "scientist" group for supernaturals but now is trying to destroy that company.

In order to do that, though, they need Chloe and her friend's help to make sure it will be fully destroyed.

My Thoughts/Reflections
I think I liked this book even more! There really wasn't much going on, just everyone trying to find a safe place to meet up and figure out what to do next.

During the journey, though, we see Chloe's supernatural power some more - sometimes out of order and others when Chloe tries to use it. We also see Derek fighting his metamorphosis into a wolf.

There is some subtle romantic feelings in this book, just like the first, between Chloe and both Derek and Simon. I know most might pick Simon because he is the cuter, more outgoing out of the two brothers, but I think I would like to see Chloe and Derek together. Derek is the not so good looking one since he's in his puberty stage still, but every time Chloe and Derek were together he was always protecting her and got emotional when Chloe was "causing trouble". I think they'd make a cute couple!

Even though this was mostly them running from place to place, we learned more about the organization hunting them and we learn more about all of the characters.

I'm excited to see what happens in the final book of this series and where Kelley Armstrong goes with it.

I would definitely recommend these books to teens who like paranormal stories, and want to read another novel about necromancers since there aren't too many out there yet.