Very important question that must be answered: What kind of book picker are you? Are you a free-spirited picker or are you a planned picker?
WAITING ON WEDNESDAY | Sekret by Lindsay Smith
Waiting On is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
Sekret by Lindsay Smith
April 1, 2014
Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children’s
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
An empty mind is a safe mind.
Yulia’s father always taught her to hide her thoughts and control her emotions to survive the harsh realities of Soviet Russia. But when she’s captured by the KGB and forced to work as a psychic spy with a mission to undermine the U.S. space program, she’s thrust into a world of suspicion, deceit, and horrifying power. Yulia quickly realizes she can trust no one–not her KGB superiors or the other operatives vying for her attention–and must rely on her own wits and skills to survive in this world where no SEKRET can stay hidden for long.
Why I’m waiting?
SPIES, YA’LL. You should all know that I have a STRONG affection for books that have spies in it. Would I be able to live that spy-esque lifestyle? Certainly not! I’ll find it all too stressful! No thank you! But nonetheless, I find it so intriguing because KGB! What YA books are about KGB? Not any I know of. I’m so curious to see her relationships with other KGB member and how she fares in the organization. I just want more awesome spy stuff in my life!
What books are you waiting on?
YOU’RE JUST MY TYPE | {6}
I love fonts. You can say I’m obsessed with collecting them all. It’s no secret to those who know me. You’re Just My Type is a new feature where I showcase the fonts I absolutely adore and use. And hopefully, you will love the fonts I pick.
YES. MORE GLORIOUS FONTS FOR YOU! I missed making these font posts even though it’s only been two weeks since my last one. I AM ATTACHED!
There are four main fonts I’m showcasing and two bonus ones! (Yay for bonuses!)
Bright and Beautiful, baby! Alliterations ftw!
Do you remember cutting out letters from construction paper and gluing it onto a paper when you were little? Bright and Beautiful reminds me of that. Those letter cut-outs. Also, you know what’s a beauty of this font? The ampersand is that awesome “AND.” Ahhhhh. I got this font purely for that.
(A big thank you goes to Nuzaifa for introducing me to this beautiful font!)
COVER CHANGE | The case of Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Inspired by Pure Imagination Blog and Stacked.
Let’s be honest, nobody follows the age-old cliché that tells us not to judge a book by its covers. If you say you do, I am side-eying you. Book covers are the first thing that attracts any of us readers to a book. Before you pick up a book, the cover can essentially make or break a book. If I don’t like a cover design, I won’t pick it up. Lucky for us, publishing companies publish different cover designs, especially when a paperback book comes out. Sometimes we like it, sometimes we don’t. Let’s discuss these cover changes, shall we?
Today, we look at the cover of Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen!
REVIEW | The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand
August 28, 2012
Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
At the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, you will definitely learn your lesson. A dark, timeless, and heartfelt novel for fans of Coraline and The Mysterious Benedict Society.
Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster—lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does too.)
But then Lawrence goes missing. And he’s not the only one. Victoria soon discovers that The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is not what it appears to be. Kids go in but come out…different. Or they don’t come out at all.
If anyone can sort this out, it’s Victoria—even if it means getting a little messy.
First sentence: “When Victoria Wright was twelve years old, she had precisely one friend. “
Ummm, what did I just read?
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is the most weirdest and creepy YA/MG story I have ever read. Every time I try to think about how I feel about it, a big “whattttttt??” continues to hang over my head. I think I liked it because of the creepy and weird story that totally caught me by surprise? However, at the same time, maybe I didn’t like it? Maybe? See, I can’t even properly convey my feelings because I’m still completely baffled by it. I deem that a good thing.
I really enjoy how bizarre and disturbing this book is. Everything that happened isn’t very straight-forward or normal. The mystery of Lawrence’s disappearance and of Mrs. Cavendish and the home she runs isn’t what I expected; it’s far more jaw-dropping than I had initially thought. The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is a reform school that uses very questionable tactics to fix problems in a kid. (For instance, if the parents doesn’t like that their kid is not very good-looking or isn’t focused on their studies, they’ll send them to Mrs. Cavendish). I love that everybody in Belleville (all the parents and Mrs. Cavendish) played a part in what has been going on with the disappearing children; nobody is totally blameless. I would hate to be shipped off to that reform home because it’s a completely fucked up place — from the punishments for disobeying really strict and weird rules to the things that occur or the creatures that live in the house. It absolutely makes me screamish. I just—no thanks.
The disappearance of children have been occurring for years. And it’s not until Victoria Wright enters the picture that we finally get to see what exactly has been going on. Victoria notices that her only friend, Lawrence Prewitt, has disappeared and also notices that all the adults are acting really strangely. I don’t particularly like Victoria because she’s, how I should say, a brat and grated on my nerves. She’s a perfectionist, smart, and incredibly stuck up. She views other kids as being “beneath” her. Her only friend Lawrence started off as a project for her to fix up since he was an outcast who had gray hairs already growing from his head. I had a big problem with how she approached situations, which inspired me to write this rather mean letter to her. (I know I’m hard on a twelve year old. :P) She’s totally someone I would not even interact with because of her attitude and because how different she is to me when I was her age. Despite my dislike for her, I like seeing how flawed she is, how confident she is, and how she dealt with emotions that were totally foreign to her (ie. caring for people she wouldn’t have given another thought to) through this ordeal. She’s a different type of heroine that knows what she wants. I can’t really fault her for that.
I consider The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls a kind of frightening, yet kind of refreshing book in a “oh shit, what the fuck is happening. Gahhh, it’s so messed up and I am shivering because creepiness!” way. It actually left me dazed, trying to figure out what I just read. And I say to that, bravo! 
SINCERELY, CEE | A letter from yours truly to Victoria from The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls
Dear Victoria,
Mannnnn. You really grate on my nerves, do you know that? Your “holier-than-thou” attitude frustrates me, but you know what frustrates me even more? When you just blurt out things that will most likely get you in trouble like your nonstop questions.