Teaser Tuesdays (1): The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

My Teaser Tuesday this week comes from Uglies, the first book in the Uglies series, by Scott Westerfeld:

"Tally sat down on the bed, too stunned to cry. She knew she would start bawling soon, probably losing it at the worst possible time and place." 

- page 111

Goodreads - Amazon

..........

Teaser Tuesday is hosted weekly over at Should Be Reading.

Review: The Runaways, Vol 1: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan

From Goodreads:

All young people believe their parents are evil ... but what if they really are? Meet Alex, Karolina, Gert, Chase, Molly and Nico - whose lives are about to take an unexpected turn. When these six young friends discover their parents are all secretly super-powered villains, the shocked teens find strength in one another. Together, they run away from home and straight into the adventure of their lives - vowing to turn the tables on their evil legacy.

I feel that my expectations for this book might have been too high, but to say that it is on par with Vaughan's Y: The Last Man, I feel, would be just wrong.

It wasn't the writing that I so much took an issue with, thankfully. Vaughan has managed to pepper the work with music and book references as I've seen him do before, but other than those little snippets I didn't feel a huge draw to the writing.

The plot proceedings were confusing, but I chalk part of that up to the fact that I'm only on book one of the series, and I'm sure that more becomes clear as time goes on. One of the things that confused me was just how evil I was supposed to see Pride, the villainous group of the comic.

I can certainly understand why the teens in the book see their parents as evil, they do witness their folks murder a teenage girl, but I had hoped to see a little bit more of Pride. Why do they have such a hold on the city? Are their threats just threats, or do they frequently carry them out? Why are their costumes so oddly hilarious for a group that I'm supposed to see with hatred? I must just have high expectations for my evildoers, which Runaways didn't fulfill.

I don't like judging art, seeing as I have no artistic skills whatsoever, but being a comic book I have no choice but to do so. The greatest issue I had was with the character's mouths, which seemed to only switch between gaping holes or puckers (say "prunes" out loud) regardless of the words within their conversation.

I had picked up Runaways without knowing that Vaughan had written in, intrigued by the premise, and was still disappointed overall. I have no plans on picking up the next issue, but if the description sounds interesting to you it may be nice to know that my sentiments are not shared in a majority of Goodreads reviews. Rather, the series appears to be well-loved, and I agree it would be fitting for a younger comic fan. For older fans looking for a much more serious series, please try Y: The Last Man. I'm certain that you won't regret it.

Amazon, Goodreads

Title: Runaways vol. 1, Pride & Joy

Author: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils: Adrian Alphona

Publisher: Marvel

Publication Date: December 6th, 2006

Page #: 144

ISBN: 0785113797

Week 1: Camp NaNoWriMo August Session (8/1-8/3)

5116

What it should be: 4838 (as of midnight, 8/4)

Favorite lines: (between Henriette, the main character, and her friend Penelope)

     “Blood Lust,” I say, reading the cover aloud. “What’s it about, incest?”
     “No, stupid,” Penelope says, grabbing it back to flip through the pages. “It’s about this mortal girl that meets this hot vampire guy and fall in love despite, you know, the fact that he’s a lot older than her. That’s the part that’s kind of creepy, but I tried not to think about it too much while reading it. It’s really good, if you read anything in that bag it should be that one,” she says, closing up the car and locking it. I stare down at Blood Lust and give Penelope a shrug. “I think incest would’ve been more interesting.”

Biggest stressor: Starting, and trying to decide where my story is trying to go as I'm writing. I don't exactly have time to plan now as I'm trying to reach 50,000 in one month along with reading for Dystopian August, planning for college, spending the last precious moments of summer with friends before we all leave, etc.

How I feel about this week: Pretty good! I'm right on track, I've got some good stuff written, and I'm feeling great about this story, especially since I was so apprehensive before vabout writing a paranormal romance (something I rarely read.)

Want to join me for Camp NaNoWriMo? Sign up here!

Fantastic Covers Friday (14): Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Fantastic Covers Friday is a weekly meme over here at Brave New Shelf where I highlight beautiful covers that I find, from both old books and new, from young adult books.

This Week:

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Jacket design by Rex Bonomelli

Jacket photography by Skye Chalmers

..........

The front cover to this book is very eye-catching, an icy, reflective blue. The spine isn't as shiny, but is a stunning color none-the-less. I love how the branches at the edges of the front cover creep in to form the title, and right away I know that this book is going to have some eerie content.

Feature and Follow Friday (7)

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted over at Parajunkee and Allison Can Read. This week's question:

Q: Do your reading habits change based on your mood? Do you read a certain genre if you are feeling depressed or happy?

I feel like, for me, it's the other way around. Reading improves my mood, almost always. If I'm reading an upsetting or uncomfortable book, I become upset. If it's a funny book, I feel good. I think my mood influences my reading habits in regards to how much I actually read, rather than influencing me to change the kinds of books.

Feel free to leave a comment or follow any way you please! (Twitter - Goodreads - RSS)

Haymitch Poster (review?)

Happy Dystopian August everybody! *tosses confetti* Not gonna lie, I seriously think that this is my favorite book blogging related event all year, mainly because it's an entire month devoted to me curled up with a snack of what I believe to be the most beautifully written, politically messed-up books out there.

Today's post isn't so much about books as it is about movies, but it was a movie based on a book, so that's okay right? About a week ago I was sailing through Amazon when I caught sight of some Hunger Games film posters being offered. You've got Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, of course, but they also offered the profiles of other characters like Cato, Rue, Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna.

Amazon

So in my quick thinking I had figured "Hey! These are limited edition! I'd better buy some before they run out!" The first one that I bought was Haymitch's, because he's my favorite Hunger Games character and, you know, teen girls everywhere are clamoring for his face on their bedroom walls, so his was more like to sell out first (or at least that's what I tell myself.)

Step aside, Justin Bieber 

He came in the mail in a HUGE box which was almost comic judging that it contained only the one poster and one hardcover book that I bought. I had friends over, so I didn't unroll him in his full glory until later.

Today, actually.

Ladies and Gentlemen: My Door

It's probably hard to tell, but Haymitch's poster is pretty freakin' big, to use the vernacular. I mean, he's at least a couple of inches wider than my movie posters that I bought from F.Y.E, and you can tell from the picture above that he dwarfs my Figment poster.

Here he is with my paperback copy of The Hunger Games.

I don't think he'll end up replacing my beloved Hunger Games book cover poster, which has reigned over my door for about two and a half years now, but he's still a nice addition to my collection.

Waiting on Wednesday (17): Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

From Goodreads:

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some CONFESSIONS to make... #1: I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?
#2: I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who "might" be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.
#3: High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry-get it?)
Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.
(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.) (Sorry. That was rude.)

Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: August 28th, 2012
Amazon, Goodreads, Author's website

..........

So many female protagonists nowadays seem so docile, rarely expressing intense emotions unless the author wants to make her seem "edgy" or emotional. What I like about this book is that, right from the start, Rose describes herself as angry. And it sounds like she should be! She has things in her life she has a right to be upset about, and Rozett has written Rose to experience more real emotions than are often found in female main characters today.

..........

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted over at Breaking the Spine.