Girls in the Stacks.com - Read. Review. Laugh.

Look at this cool cover??  Don’t you want to pick this book up just by looking at it’s cover?  I feel more and more that a great cover really helps build my excitement for a book.  Let’s just say I was jumping up and down ready to read Prism when I saw this one.

Kaida, Zeke, and Joy are all on the same bus when they are thrown into a nightmare situation when their bus, going on a school trip, is in an accident.  They work on getting shelter, fall asleep, and bang – they wake up in their own beds in the morning.  How did they get there?  Life is dangerously different and the gang must come together to find a way to leave this alternate universe and find a way back to the home they love.

Prism is a fast paced, easy to read book that leads you in directions you wouldn’t have guessed it would take you.  Although it really isn’t a great cross-over book, teens will love the suspense and alternate universe.  Joy and Zeke are great secondary characters that are well developed.  Kaida and Ozzy are my surprise favorites as I love the strength and interest they show in each other but more importantly, their mission.  I would love a story with those two if future books will be written.  

I give Prism 3 STACKS!

Love,
STACKGirl Shannan – who loves a great cover!

And the winner of the lovely prize pack donated by Carolee Dean is …*drum roll*… Sc0ot from See Scoot Read!

YAY! and many congratulations Scoot!

I picked this book up the second I was done with book two in the saga and then read it straight through. I couldn’t put it down. I ignored the phone calls and shut off the computer. Good thing my kids were at school that day or they would have encountered a mom with her nose in her book all day!

(see book 1 review here and book 2 here and watch my interview with Judson here)

This story unfolds with the Halfdan and Genevieve aboard the Gull, safely away from the Franks.  As a valuable hostage, Halfdan has pledged to guard and protect Genevieve until her ransom can be paid. An oath he fully lives up to.

At the same time, he is continuing to gain strength as a respected warrior. For which he will use in his ultimate quest, vengeance for his brothers death.

Again I am amazed with Roberts writing ability. He does a fabulous job creating a very authentic Viking world set in Denmark/Frankia (France) 845. It has all the elements needed to captivate the reader; strong characters, interesting plot, action and adventure with just the right amount of romance.

I was enamored with Halfdan and his internal conflict, struggling between what is right and wrong. His obscure upbringing as a slave taught him empathy and understanding, while life as a free Viking has skilled him in the ways of great warriors. (I like to call it a perfect combination.) I commend him for his honor and valor, when all around him is greed and filth.

The romance is a perfect addition to the storyline and is delivered beautifully.

I give this book 5 STACKS (yes, I LOVED it)

See you in the STACKS,
Stacy – who is eagerly awaiting Judson to write number 4 and 5!

FYI: for more information on the Strongbow Saga visit the site here.

After I finished Mockingjay, I thought my head would explode unless I talked to someone about this book!  So I went to our local Border’s Mockingjay Fan Fest on Saturday hoping to talk Mockingjay.  They had a small but lively group of people attend, but we had to talk spoiler-free since some there had not finished the book.  That was okay because after the event I hashed it over with someone who finished it  (thanks Rose!) and later that evening Stacy and Shannan came over and we sat down to podcast.  *Can you say emotional catharsis?*

After our chat, we wondered WHAT we could possibly read next that could compare to the emotionally draining, epic finale that is Mockingjay.  Well … here’s what I am going to read next, and I cannot wait!  Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel!  *ta da!*  It will be released on Tuesday, August 31, and in preparation I am doing a no-reading-books cleansing purge to give me some distance from MJ and get back into the Mortal Instruments world.

So tell us – what are you going to read next?
See you in the STACKS – Nancy

Mockingjay *big sigh* … We finally got together to talk. In Nancy’s backyard at midnight no less. We laughed and Shannan cried. In the end, it was 5 STACKS all around!

**SPOILERS abound and as always you can find us on iTunes, just search girlsinthestacks.com**

September is right around the corner and so is the highly anticipated Smart Chicks Kick It! Tour, the brainchild of Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong and Alyson Noel. If you happen to be living under a rock (smile) and not sure what it is… Well, it’s just a multi-city, multi-author tour that is being produced by the authors themselves – their way. *doing my quirky Elaine dance here*

Graciously, Kelley Armstrong answered a few questions about the tour…for more information please visit the Smart Chicks Kick It! Tour, where you can find the schedule, author listing and blog.

It had to have been a daunting task to choose locations for the tour. How did you select the cities? Was it just logistical?

We had a list of stores we wanted to go to, then built the tour up from there, by store requests and reader requests.  There were store requests and strong reader request areas that we couldn’t fulfill for logistical reasons, but we did our best!

The size of this tour is phenomenal, it is unprecedented really. We are pretty sure ya’ll are making history.  How did you (and Melissa and Alyson) get so many authors to participate?  Was it blackmail?

Melissa and I came up with a list of authors whose work we enjoy and just started sending out invitations.  While there were a couple who couldn’t participate due to their own busy schedules, our “success” rate was so high that we didn’t get near the bottom of our wish list.

Momentum seems to be growing in anticipation for this tour, lots of buzz. How does that make ya’ll feel? Getting nervous? Excited?

Trying something different like this is always cause for nerves.  But everything has gone beautifully so far, so it’s mostly excitement now.  It’s wonderful to see a year’s work finally coming to fruition. 

With all the awesome authors at each stop, we can only imagine packed bookstores. (YAY for the bookstores!!) How will the events be run? Will each author get to speak, Q & A and then signing? 

We’ll each introduce ourselves very briefly, then answer questions—asking for ones we can all answer, like “what’s your next project?” or “how did you get started?”  Then we’ll sign and answer questions about our individual books/series up at the table.

Will we be able to get our picture taken with each of the authors when they sign our books?  How many books can we get signed?  Do we have to buy all of them from the bookstore? 

Pictures are fine if readers can either get behind the table or lean over.  With this many authors, we can’t come around the table for photos or do multiple author shots, unfortunately.  We’re not putting a limit on the number of books, but we will ask readers to keep it to three books per author per time through the line (so if you have more than three for one author, you can rejoin the end of the line)  As for buying/bringing, we’d suggest double-checking with the stores.  As far as we know, books from home are fine at all stops, though we strongly suggest that attendees support the store by buying any new books there.

And the last question.  Do you mind if we cry with joy when we meet you?  Yeah, we are pretty stoked about seeing you chicks!  You are our rock stars and we are your groupies!! Smart chicks kick it for sure!

We may be the ones crying with joy if we pull this off <grin>

SCHEDULE & AUTHOR APPERANCE:

September 13th, 2010 7 PM @ BOOKPEOPLE, Austin, TX
Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Holly Black, Rachel Caine & Cassandra Clare

September 14th, 2010 7 PM @ B&N THE WOODLANDS,  Houston, TX
Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Kami Garcia & Rachel Vincent.

September 15th, 2010 7PM. @ The Refuge (13150 Memorial Dr). Hosted by BLUE WILLOW, Houston, TX
Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan, Margaret Stohl & Cassandra Clare

September 16th, 2010 6 PM @ Plantation Commons (105 Plantation Cove, Gluckstadt). Hosted by LEMURIA BOOKS, Jackson, MS
Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Jessica Verday & Sarah Rees Brennan

September 17th, 2010 7PM @ Scottsdale Civic Library Auditorium, hosted by POISONED PEN, Scottsdale, AZ
Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan & Kimberly Derting

September 18th, 2010 6 PM @ Menlo Park Library, Hosted by KEPLERS, Menlo Park, CA
Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa de la Cruz, Margaret Stohl, Kami Garcia & Kimberly Derting

September 20th, 2010 6 PM @ VEOMAN’S, Pasadena, CA
Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, Melissa de la Cruz, Rachel Vincent, Margaret Stohl & Mary Pearson

September 21st, 2010 6 PM @ Encinitas County Library, hosted by MYSTERIOUS GALAXY, San Diego, CA
Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Mary Pearson, Rachel Caine, Rachel Vincent, Carrie Ryan, Rachel Vincent, Margaret Stohl & Kami Garcia

September 22nd, 2010 7 PM @ Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College, Hosted by ANDERSON’S, Naperville, IL
Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Jackson Pearce, Jennifer Barnes & Carrie Ryan
NOTE: for this event, it is free with the purchase of one book by a featured author or $5 without purchase.

September 23rd, 2010 7 PM @BOOKS & CO AT THE GREENE, Dayton, OH
Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Jackson Pearce, Jennifer Lynn Barnes & Kami Garcia.

September 24th, 2010 7 PM @ JOSEPH BETH, Cincinnati, OH
Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Jeri Smith-Ready, & Margaret Stohl

September 25th, 2010 2 PM @ CHAPTERS BRAMPTON, Brampton, ON
Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Melissa de la Cruz, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Of course Shannan, Nancy and I will be at the September 14th stop. Let us know if you will be there too, we would love to say HI and take a picture with you!

Here’s what’s in our STACKS this week…

what’s in yours?

The sci-fi geek in me was excited to read this book – there was tons of pre-release hype this summer, not to mention they started filming the movie version before the book was even released!  I LOVE the story’s hook: Nine aliens living on earth are being hunted by their enemies, and a magic charm keeps them safe by forcing the bad guys to kill them in a certain order … they have killed the first three, and our hero is number four.

 I thought this was a great story, with lots of action and suspense.  The book starts off strong, with the dramatic murder of number 3 and then going into the lonely, nomadic life of John Smith (number four) and his guardian, Henri.  John is one of the last survivors of the Lorien race, one of the elite Garde, who inherit varied unique powers called Legacies as they mature.  They came to Earth when they were small children; each with a Cêpan, or Keeper.  The Keepers watch over them as they grow and protect them from the Mogadorians, the evil race that destroyed Lorien.  I enjoyed learning about the Loriens throughout the book and getting the backstory, as told in John’s dreams and conversations with Henri.

John longs to stay in one place long enough to make friends, have a life and feel normal.  Henri has to uproot them frequently to avoid detection by the Mogadorians.  John and Henri take off again after the death of number three (which John knows because the charm brands rings around their ankles when one of them dies) and land in Paradise, Ohio.  This is where the book bogs down a bit for me – the standard coming of age stuff – trying to fit in, make friends, standing up to bullies, liking a girl.  Of course, John is also dealing with his developing Legacies at the same time, and trying not to get killed by those pesky evil aliens.  I liked Sam, the friend who is into alien conspiracies – he was a little comic relief.  I also liked the “dog” Bernie Kosar – I’m a sucker for pets in a story.  Unfortunately, John and Sarah’s romance was the most unbelievable part of the book for me – they seemed to have nothing in common, their conversations somewhat flat.  AND – she wasn’t even the tiniest bit freaked out or skeptical when he finally revealed he was an alien – um, really?  The book was not as emotionally resonant as I thought it could be because of that (perhaps that’s because it’s aimed at the mainstream male teen crowd). 

Let me also mention that this book is ascribed to Pittacus Lore, an alien elder who came to earth and is preparing for war with his fellow race.  Actually, Pittacus Lore is a pseudonym for authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes.  There have been some strange and (I think) cheesy interviews conducted with ”Lore” to generate publicity - here’s one:  http://bit.ly/c4cn8e.

Don’t let that gimmick stop you from reading this story, however.  The ending is action-packed and fast, and when all is said and done, I’d like to know where this story is going to go next.

I give this book 4 STACKS!
See you in the STACKS, Nancy

Shannan, Nancy and I are anxiously awaiting Mockingjay tomorrow. I am having a hard time concentrating, and Shannan and Nancy were jumping up and down today after we dropped off the kids at school. Yea, people were looking at as funny, but who cares. We will finally have Mockingjay in our hands…YAY!!!!

For us tomorrow is almost like the anticipation of Christmas. All excited, and jumpy and eager to please. You know it’s that feeling you get right before you go to bed, knowing what the next day brings. Things like joyfulness, delightfulness, happiness and fun (hopefully no tears though) and you have to WILL yourself to sleep. Well, it’s like that. For us anyway.

So, tell us. Are you excited?