Book Review-THE GIRL IN THE WALL

THE GIRL IN THE WALL
By Daphne Benedis-Grab
2012
256 Pages
Summary taken from Goodreads-
Ariel's birthday weekend looks to be the event of the season, with a private concert by rock star Hudson Winters on the grounds of her family's east coast estate, and all of Ariel's elite prep school friends in attendance. The only person who's dreading the party is Sera, Ariel's former best friend, whose father is forcing her to go. Sera has been the school pariah since she betrayed Ariel, and she now avoids Ariel and their former friends. Thrown together, Ariel and Sera can agree on one thing: this could be one very long night.
They have no idea just how right they are.
Only moments after the concert begins and the lights go down, thugs open fire on parents and schoolmates alike, in a plot against Ariel's father that quickly spins out of control. As the entire party is taken hostage, the girls are forced apart. Ariel escapes into the hidden tunnels in the family mansion, where she and Sera played as children. Only Sera, who forges an unlikely alliance with Hudson Winters, knows where her friend could be. As the industrial terrorist plot unravels and the death toll climbs, Ariel and Sera must recall the sisterhood that once sustained them as they try to save themselves and each other on the longest night of their lives.
My Thoughts-
When I first saw the cover of The Girl In The Wall I assumed it was a paranormal tale, I was pleasantly surprised that this book is actually part thriller-part romance.
Author Daphne Benedis-Grab keeps the story fresh by playing off  two different points of view-one is Sera and the other is Ariel. Both girls have very different personalities and that keeps the story from lagging or getting boring. Sera and Ariel have a former friendship and a long past in common that we get bits and pieces of as the story unfolds.
The story is intense-filled with unexpected friendships and a couple of violent deaths I didn't see coming. I loved the action and the unexpected twists and turns this tale took me on. 
The only thing that made me scratch my head in confusion was Sera's inability to dial 911 from a cell phone thats' the latest and greatest in technology-HUH??? We all know that every cell phone is capable of that. This detail kinda drove me crazy because it is a major part of the story.
The romance between Sera and Hudson is a cute distraction. The story can easily carry itself without it.
Looking back I wish the story had been a chapter or two longer to flesh out the character of Nico. To me he was the most interesting character and I would have loved more details about him.
The Girl In The Wall was a suspenseful nail biter that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I would love to find another title by Daphne Benedis-Grab.
This book was sent to me to read and review by FSB Associates. I will be donating this book to my local Middle School Library.

Book Review-The Disreputable History of Frankie Laundau-Banks

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

By E. Lockhart

2008

342 Pages

Summary taken from Goodreads:

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:

Debate Club.

Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.
Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.
Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.
Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.
This is the story of how she got that way.
My thoughts:
Have you ever been excluded from a game, locked out of a tree fort or left behind because you were a girl? In elementary school I didn't want to play with dolls, hang on the money bars, or swing. I wanted to run with the boys, catch the football, and shoot the bad guys with my finger gun. Maybe that is why I completely fell in love with this book.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is BRILLIANT! The story takes place over the span of two years. We see Frankie go from shy and uncertain to someone who could quite possibly take over the world.
Frankie starts a new school year having gone through some major physical changes over the summer. She immediately gets the attention of popular senior, Matthew.
As their relationship progresses she finds out that Matthew belongs to an all-boy secret society at her boarding school. This secret society-The Loyal Order of the Bassett Hounds has a long history of pulling legendary pranks. Frankie wants to be a part of it but can't simply because she's a girl. But Frankie is not the type of girl to accept no for an answer.
Frankie is impossible not to fall in love with and root for. A main character with brains, beauty and wit quick enough to make your head spin.
I bought this book used from Amazon.com and donated it to my local middle school.

Movie Trailer:BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

This is a movie I'm excited to see-BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
Coming to theaters FEBRUARY 2013
The book is written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.
Summary from Goodreads.com
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
Looks like its worth the price of admission in my opinion.
Check out the movie trailer-

New Moon:BAD LIP READING

Need a laugh today?
Thank you Bookshelves of Doom for finding this little gem.
This earned a snort laugh from me.
Enjoy.

A Gift Card Giveaway Hop!

The Christmas countdown has started. Are you ready?
What perfect timing for a giveaway hop!
The prizes are GIFT CARDS!!
I'm not participting in this hop but still wanted to give you all a heads up. I'll be hopping and hoping that I win one or two of these awesome giveaways.
But I have to admit that if I won a book gift card it would probably go into my own stocking!
A giant thank you to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Sweeping Me for hosting and organizing this giveaway hop.
Now grab a cup of hot chocolate and hop away. Good Luck!!
Click HERE to go to Giveaway Hop List.

BOOK REVIEW-The Dark Light

THE DARK LIGHT
By Sara Walsh
2012
483 Pages
Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she’s concerned, that’s about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.
That is, until Sol arrives. Mia’s not one to fall for just any guy, but she can’t get Sol—or the brilliant tattoo on his back—out of her mind.
Then Mia’s brother goes missing, and Mia’s convinced that Sol knows more than he’s sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything Mia once believed to be true. Because Sol’s not who Mia thought he was—and neither is she.
My thoughts:
Let's talk about the word "assume".
According to Webster the definition of the word assume means to take to or upon oneself.
I assumed many things about this book in the beginning-
Let's start with the first assumption-
The Cover:
Based on the beautiful cover of The Dark Light I thought this book was going to be rated PG(something I would put in the hands of an older teen)-there's a big sexual tone to it. She has the "this man is mine-come near him and I will cut you" stare. If you doubt the seriousness of her look-check out her hand planted firmly on his butt showing full ownership. Yep, I assumed Mia and the tattoo man probably had done/will do/are doing the BIG NASTY. Assumption was wrong-this romance is very G rated. Don't judge a book by it's cover you silly rabbit!
Content:
A lot of book reviews drop the word paranormal when talking about this book. Maybe we all have different definitions of paranormal? To me paranormal has elements of vampires, witches, werewolves, magic, etc. But after looking up the definition of paranormal in Webster's dictionary I found that paranormal means not scientifically explainable. The Dark Light has magic, a parallel universe, shape shifters/changelings, demons, and people with wings. This book sits firmly in the fantasy area for me. But it could technically be considered either/or/maybe both.
The Author:
I have never read anything by Sara Walsh before The Dark Light. After finishing this I can say I was blown away by the fact that I never knew what she was going to throw at me-the story was unpredictable on every level. The plot twists and story surprises kept me turning pages like a maniac.
Here we are tooling around in small town Nebraska, then when you least expect it she drops the reader into Brakaland and doesn't look back.
Her world building was amazing. I wanted to know more, more, more about Brakaland and Bordertown.
I liked that she made the characters real in the sense that they weren't perfect. I admired Mia's strength but at times she annoyed me by running head long into a situation she knew little about. I loved that she was so protective of her little brother but still acted like a seventeen year old that forgets to turn off her headlights and lets her car battery run out.
Don't even get me started on Uncle Pete. Flawed with a capital "F".
Sol's companion Delane is the trusty sidekick who brings the comedy to lighten the mood now and then. He was one of my favorite characters.
Sara Walsh recognizes that in order to connect/identify with a character they need to have some flaws.
At almost 500 pages the story wraps up nicely leaving a small possibility for a sequel(I could definitely hear more about Mia and Sol) but could also be left as a terrific stand alone novel.
If you are looking for great fantasy, romance with a ton of adventure this story is for you.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. I'll be donating it to my local Middle School where it's sure to be a big hit.

Please Santa Please!

This is at the top of my Christmas wish list-
Sending out some Santa Signals for this book that I've read great reviews for. Forget warm and fuzzy for the holidays-I want a hair raising, nail biter.