DYSTOPIAN Winners!

 Announcing the winners of the Dystopian Giveaway Hop-
A copy of the book Divergent by Veronica Roth goes to-
BIOCHEMGUY

A copy of ARC The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse goes to
EMILY ROSE

Thank you to everyone who played along on the hop. I appreciate everyone who enters, follows and supports. Big thanks goes to Dystopian Giveaway Hop hosts and organizers- I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and My Shelf Confessions.

SPOOKTACULAR Winners!

Announcing the winners of the Spooktacular Giveaway:
Recieving a copy of one of my very favorite zombie books
World War Z by Max Brooks is-
CAYCE

The winner of the First Season of The Walking Dead DVD is-

MARIEHAHN13

Both winners have been contacted and have confirmed. I appreciate everyone who participated, followed and liked. A giant thank you to the hosts of the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop-I'm A Reader, Not A Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm.

Book Review-DEAD CITY

DEAD CITY

By James Ponti

2012

288 Pages

Summary taken from Goodreads:

Most kids have enough to deal with between school, homework, extracurricular activities, and friends, but Molly Bigelow has something else on her list: hunting zombies. By day, Molly attends MIST—the Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology—but outside the classroom she’s busy dealing with the undead. Because not only do zombies exist, they’re everywhere, and it’s her job to help police them and keep the peace. Sure, she’d like to be a regular kid, but given that her mother was the most revered (or feared, depending on your perspective) zombie hunter in the history of New York City, “regular” just isn’t possible. Molly’s got some legendary footsteps to follow—and some undeadly consequences if she fails.

My thoughts:

I LOVED this book!

Let's start with the cover which is cool and creepy. Molly is ready to kick some serious zombie butt. Love the omega sign hidden in title-clever! I have no doubt many kids will pick up this book based on the cover alone.

Main character Molly is a smart, yet awkward 7th grader who is struggling to fit in and figure out where she belongs. Everything in her life suddenly changes when she finds herself accepted into a secret society of zombie hunters called the Omega Society. An ages old club dedicated to keeping New York safe from the undead.

A genius move by author James Ponti adds a new twist to zombies by making the undead emotional, feeling creatures-some of which are just trying to live peacefully among humans. Of course, some zombies are trouble makers and that's where the Omega Society comes into play. It is now Molly and her team's job to gather clues, solve puzzles, and track down the evil undead. 

Not only is Molly trying to wrap her head around her unusual new job, she deals with complicated new friendships, a strained relationship with her older sister, as well as discovering shocking things she never knew about her mother. 

I loved that Molly was not a perfect person, she messes up-sometimes in big ways. It was fun to watch her grow and evolve through out the story. The New York history and landmark facts were also a fun reading bonus. I stand firmly in the "Molly" fan club. I can't wait to read more of Molly's zombie fighting adventures. 

Dead City is a perfect Middle School read. I can't wait to put it on the library shelf and watch the kids devoure this zombie story.

A big thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing this book to read and review. I'll be donating this book to the Salmon Middle School.

DYSTOPIAN Giveaway Hop

*Welcome to the Dystopian Giveaway Hop*

November 1st to 7th*

dys·to·p*i·an
a noun
a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease,
and overcrowding. 
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & My Shelf Confessions
This hop features Dystopian Novels.
*GIVEAWAY:*
The winner can choose either of these dystopian novels:

 Rules for the Giveaway:
1. Please enter contact information in comment section along with your book choice.
2. This giveaway runs from November 1st to November 7th. A winner will be selected on November 8th.
3. You must be 13 years or older to participate.
4. If you are selected as the winner, you will be notified by email. If you do not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.
5. This giveaway is open to everyone-BUT you must be a follower.
AND here's where I sweeten the deal-Like me on Facebook(HERE) and you will also be entered to win a bonus book-an ARC of FORSAKEN by Lisa M. Stasse

Good Luck!!

SPOOKTACULAR Giveaway Hop

 IT'S FINALLY HERE!
Seven glorious days of hop-tastic fun!
Mug of Moxie is joining the biggest giveaway hop of the year!
Over 400 participants-which mean over 400 books and other goodies are offered to you lucky hoppers! This giveaway hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm.
I'm going to confess that I have a bit of an addiction right now-ZOMBIES! Love em!
So this Halloween I celebrate the existance of my favorite bad guys-The Undead! Below are a few books that I have read and loved.
This giveaway is reader's choice. Which book would you choose if you won?

Rot and Ruin
Jonathan Maberry

World War Z

Max Brooks

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Carrie Ryan

Rules for the Giveaway:

1. Please enter contact information in comment section along with your book choice.
2. This giveaway runs from October 24th to October 31st. A winner will be selected on November 1st.
3. You must be 13 years or older to participate.
4. If you are selected as the winner, you will be notified by email. If you do not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.
5. This giveaway is open to everyone-BUT you must be a follower.
AND here's where I sweeten the deal-Like me on Facebook(HERE) and you will also be entered to win a DVD of The Walking Dead Season 1.

Happy Halloween and Good Luck!

Book Review-The Grimm Chronicles

The Grimm Chronicles
By Isabella Fontaine and Ken Brosky
2012
378 Pages

Summary Taken From Amazon.com:
200 years ago, the Brothers Grimm unleashed their stories upon the world. Literally. Now the characters of the Grimms’ stories walk among us. With every day that passes, they grow more evil. They are the Corrupted, and only a hero can stop them.
For 18-year-old Alice Goodenough, that means taking precious time off from her summer vacation. In addition to volunteering at the local library, Alice must stop the Corrupted who are now actively hunting her down. With the help of her magic pen and her trusty rabbit friend, the world has suddenly gotten a lot more complex. The Corrupted are everywhere, and only Alice can see them for what they truly are.
This book contains the first 3 episodes of the critically acclaimed series:
Episode 1: Prince Charming Must Die!
Episode 2: Happily Never After
Episode 3: Revenge of the Castle Cats
My Thoughts:
There is nothing I love more than a twist on a classic fairy tale. It seems like the Grimm Brothers are getting some respect lately.
Volume 1 of the Grimm Chronicles contains 3 episodes in Alice Goodenough's life. Each episode contains a character and back story from a Grimm Brother's tale-Prince Charming, Cinderella, and the Seven Dwarfs.
Alice is a normal teenager living a pretty average life-she goes to high school, hangs out with her cute boyfriend, has dorky parents, etc. It all changes one day when she finds an old pen while putting away books in the basement of the library she works at. The moment she picks up the pen she finds out that she is a "hero" and it's now her job to rid the world of the "corrupted". Luckily, in all the confusion and new responsibility she has a mentor/trainer in the form of a big furry white rabbit-yes, a rabbit- to help her understand her new role in life.
I like that the main character Alice is a strong, independent, female who has to think her way through the situations she finds herself in. She also knows how to use a sword and takes fencing classes-how cool is that? AND she works in a library as a volunteer-big "like" points for that!
I wasn't really into the Briar Rabbit sidekick-not being to familiar with the Briar Rabbit tales I was a bit confused by him and his role in Alice's life. He doesn't seem to be that much of a help-maybe he's more of a comedy relief? Perhaps he'll grow on me in upcoming episodes.
I would really like to see more of Seth in stories to come. I think he could really become a more helpful part of "Team Alice" with his savvy computer programming skills and subtle sense of humor.
I loved that the authors included a collection of Grimm Fairy Tales at the back of their book. That was an extra treat. It also helped familiarize me with lesser known tales and characters that were scattered through out their book.
I also really liked the lost diary of a past hero included in story-I hope we get more of that in upcoming episodes.
I'm very much looking forward to Volume 2 which will follow Alice through her senior year. I can't wait to see which Grimm characters will make an appearance and how Alice plan to take care of them. A very entertaining book!
Thanks to Ken Brosky for sending me a copy of the Grimm Chronicles to read and review.

Book Review-Burn for Burn

Burn for Burn
By Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
2012
368 Pages
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.
Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.
Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.
Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.
My Thoughts:
3 Very Different Girls
3 Point of Views
3 Acts of Revenge
One word-Wow!
A contempory novel with a tiny paranormal twist. This book left me wanting more, more, MORE.
Firstly-LOVE the cover! The picture really captures the mood of the story. The body language speaks loud and clear-these girls aren't besties-but they're together to carry out something big. They look scared/paranoid/secretive.
My favorite character out of the three is Mary. She is the one who carries the deepest scars of her past and the one who has the most mystery that surrounds her. I think she's the live wire of the bunch who will probably get completely out of control with her revenge. She's the wild card and I can't wait to read more of her story in the sequel.
Who hasn't dreamed of getting revenge on a ex-boyfriend or high school frenemy? It's a story that most everyone can relate to in one way or another.
After visiting Jenny Han's website I learned that Burn for Burn is the first book in a planned trilogy(YAH!) The sequel is currently being written with her BFF-Siobhan Vivian-it's called Fire with Fire and will be released in the Fall of 2013.
Can't wait to read it!
A giant thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing the ARC to read and review!