Giveaway winner: The Haunting of Charles Dickens--Lewis Buzbee

Using random.org (see pic below) the winner of The Haunting of Charles Dickens is comment #2, the Dewey Review!

Congratulations! If you don't hear from me, please e-mail me your snail mail address. I hope you enjoy the book and I look forward to reading your review!
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Savannah Grey--Cliff McNish

Title: Savannah Grey
Author: Cliff McNish
Publisher: Carolrhoda LAB, expected pub date April 2011
Pages: 272 p
Source: The publisher, courtesy of Netgalley
Compensation: None

Savannah Grey is a teenaged girl with a big secret. She's never felt comfortable staying in the same place for very long and chooses to move from foster family to foster family, she doesn't make connections with other people, and she makes weird noises when she sleeps. Unbeknownst to her Savannah is nature's weapon against the ultimate alien evil and the big showdown is quickly approaching. Luckily for her she meets Reece, a guy who seems to have the same secrets, but can she really trust him?

This is the very first eBook I have ever read. I'm glad I chose this title, it was riveting and engrossing and hard to put down. I ignored many Words with Friends games to continue reading it on my iPad.

The story is a quick-paced one; it is very much like an action or horror movie--there's a brief intro to the protagonist and then we are thrust into non stop action. Most of the story is told in first person, but interspersed throughout the novel are chapters describing the history of the evil, the Ocrassa, giving the reader some background knowledge Savannah doesn't have. Savannah's chapters lure us in with the suspenseful action, but these other sections are thoughtfully interesting. While some might argue that Savannah learns too much about her power too easily, it makes sense in the story. She is awakening to that which she has always known; nature has a plan for her and her body forces her mind to accept it. This is a unique girl-power story, part horror, part science fiction, part growing up and accepting one's fate. I highly recommend it to readers looking for something just a bit different from the norm.

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I'm an Amazon Associate now. If you click on the Amazon links & buy anything I might make a tiny bit of money.

Giveaway: The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee

Title: The Haunting of Charles Dickens
Author: Lewis Buzbee

I read this as an ARC in November, but was sent the finished book as well. I truly enjoyed it and would like to pass it on (the finished book) to another reader. Read my review and then enter the contest.

Rules:

1. Leave me a comment telling me whether or not you think Dickens should be required reading in high school and why.

2. Live in the US.

3. Deadline: Friday, February 25, 2011. Winner chosen by random.org and announced on Saturday, February 26. I've extended the deadline. The last couple of weeks have been really busy and I haven't been able to promote this as much as I would like.


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I'm an Amazon Associate now. If you click on the Amazon links & buy anything I might make a tiny bit of money.

Scarlett Fever--Maureen Johnson

Title: Scarlett Fever
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Point (Scholastic)
Pages: 336 p
Source: library

Scarlett is your typical teenage girl--she lives in a hotel, works for a theatrical agent, and helps her brother figure out the best way to die while trying to fasten a seatbelt on an airplane. Scarlett is actually far from typical. Her family runs a small hotel and barely make ends meet, her older brother is a struggling actor, her older sister is dating a rich guy the family doesn't like, her younger sister is a cancer survivor who lives to make her siblings miserable but comes back from camp "nice". Scarlett is obsessed with a young actor and intrigued by a new classmate she's supposed to spy on for her agent boss. She has a lot of things on her plate, but manages them all with humor.

This is the first Maureen Johnson book I have read and I understand now why she has such a cult following on twitter. Although this is a sequel to Suite Scarlett, I didn't feel lost or confused at all. Johnson does a good job of alluding to previous events with just enough explanation to advance the current story. Scarlett is funny and likable. I loved her family and the close relationship she had with her brother. The characters are realistic and while not perfect, their actions are understandable. The book is thoroughly enjoyable and will prompt new readers to seek out the first one and to hope a next one is published very soon. The book ends rather abruptly like a friend hanging up the phone in the middle of the story. We're left saying "What next??"and hoping we get an answer soon.

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I'm an Amazon Associate now. If you click on the Amazon links & buy anything I might make a tiny bit of money.