"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event courtesy of Breaking the Spine that showcases much anticipated upcoming releases.

The Night Circus

Author: Erin Morgenstern

Publishing date: 09/13/2011

from goodreads:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.


I'll admit, I don't like circuses in the traditional sense, but as soon as I saw this cover and read the synopsis I was hooked. A circus that's only open at night called The Circus of Dreams - it was immediate love. I already want to know more about the colors, the cover,  the characters. And the UK version of the cover, while not quite as gorgeous is still beautiful.  The line about prose is also very intriguing for me as I love an author that can work details with words like a loom. This is a release that I am very much looking forward to.

This is probably the first week in awhile that I haven't bought any books, although I almost did the other day and I certainly will this week. (I just started the Vampire Academy series a day or so ago and I'm already on book 3 and completely addicted. I need the rest of them! And I love Dimitri.) I'm still catching up from books I got a few weeks ago and from holds that have arrived at the library. Here goes!

Galley Grab:

Witchlanders, Lena Coakley

The Unwanteds, Lisa McMann

Witchlanders is a book that Hannah of My Book Journey first turned me on to and I thought that I was going to have to wait until August to read it. Thankfully I don't have to. The Unwanteds is a rare case of a blurb completely selling me - "The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter"? Oh, well played, Kirkus.

Library:

Imaginary Girls, Nova Ren Suma

Starcrossed, Josephine Angelini

Galley Grab:

Frost, Wendy Delsol

I've had Stork on my TBR for awhile now, but now that I have a copy of Frost I'll have to definitely read push the first book up so I can read them in order. This is a series I'm looking forward to.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Candlewick for the e-ARCs!

This week's question courtesy of Parajunkee's Follow Friday is:

Q: Genre Wars! What's your favorite genre and which book in that genre made it your favorite?

Whew - an easy question! I can handle this as one question happens to answer the other. My favorite book is Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, which, of course, falls under the dystopian genre. From the very first time we covered this book in school it was love at first read. It was the best possible introduction to dystopia for me and is a regular re-read. (I also love his other less known - but still brilliant - novel, Island.) Social issues are important to me and the way that this genre is able to tackle them weave a story around their flaws in a way that gets people curious and eager to read will never cease to be a good thing. The resurgence of dystopian popularity really makes my heart happy and is why you'll see me reading a lot of books in the genre. 


I'm also going to toss in a mention of Ray Bradbury's short story take on the original poem There Will Come Soft Rains; when we first read this in English I would go back and read it over and over again when the rest of the class was reading other stories aloud. (Don't worry, I always caught up.) If you haven't read it, it's an insanely quick read but for me it's unforgettable. You can read it here.

What's your favorite dystopian book? And I'm really looking forward to reading the answers to this question!

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event courtesy of Breaking the Spine that showcases much anticipated upcoming releases.

Variant

Author: Robison Wells

Publishing date: 10/01/2011

from goodreads:

Benson Fisher thought a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.

He was wrong.

Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.

Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

If you haven't already noticed, dystopian is my favorite genre not just for books but for films and, well, anything. And although the synopsis is brief I'm curious as to why there are cameras, what happened to leave the kids like this and what they'll have to do to survive. If anyone's seen Doctor Who, it sort of reminds me of the series one episode "Bad Wolf" although the catchphrase is very X-Files. I love the simple cover with muted blue overtones and the way her red sweater stands out against everything else.

What are you guys waiting on?

Author: Neal Shusterman
Publication Date: 11/06/2007
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 335
Source: Library 

 The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

"Connor stands there for the longest time, until the motion sensor light goes out. Being alone had not been part of the plan, but he realises it should  have been. From the moment his parents signed those papers, Connor was alone. (10)" 

How I missed this I'm not sure, but when I read the synopsis for Unwind I somehow entirely missed the definition of what it was to be unwound and it was something of a horrific discovery as I read more and more, putting the pieces together. The book, divided into seven parts, begins with a part called "Triplicate" named in reference to the fact that in order to have a child unwound, a parent must sign carbon-copy paperwork - and the subtle reference to carbon being duplicated and split is a clever one - with the white copy of the paper work going to the government, the yellow copy with the child, and the pink stays with the parents. The first heading also refers to the introduction of the three main characters and their stories. First is Connor, a so-called normal child raised in the average family setting with his parents and younger brother except for the fact that Connor has some behavioral issues. Next is Lev whose very religious family has decided that Lev would literally be a tithe for the family to the world, and the Lev we first meet is perfectly fine with this not knowing any other life. Last is Risa, a girl raised in a State Home whose gift of playing the piano was not enough to save her a bed in the orphanage and to clear space will be unwound. 

Connor starts things into motion when he finds three tickets for a vacation. Curious as to why only three, he soon finds his unwind paperwork and decides to make a run for it. The turn of events end up with his meeting Lev and Risa somewhat unwillingly but the three of them share a bond as only Unwind can. I won't say too much about their journey but, like I mentioned earlier, without knowing what it really meant to be unwound, reading this book really was like putting together the pieces of the puzzle I didn't want to know the picture to. The people they meet along the way change their perception of what is is to be an Unwind, how they see themselves, and develop a keen sense of (and distaste for) how easy it is to throw someone way - and not just Unwinds, either - no matter who they are to you. Their only goal is to make it until eighteen, to live.

It is difficult to put into words just how awesome (in the most literal sense) I thought this book was. I won't lie, this is a difficult book to read, but I would implore anyone that if you haven't read this book that you should at least consider it. Everything about it was so well thought out from the references to actual events under the part headers which tie into what is happening within that section of the book to the realism of it all - despite that current science isn't up to par for this, thankfully, there wasn't a moment where something stood out to me because it was implausible. I loved these characters not because they were on their death beds but because they had real, human reactions to the situation and their journey was courageous and heartbreaking.

As a forewarning - there is one scene that is  probably the most graphic thing that I've ever read, not because of blood and gore but simply due to the absence of words and things left implied that go straight to your imagination. Even still, I haven't added a book to my favorites in a long time, but Unwind was an immediate add. 

Author: Amy Plum

Publication Date: 05/11/2011

Publisher: HarperTeen 

Pages: 341

Source: Library

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.
 
 When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.
 
 Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again. 

Note: I removed a very small portion of the synopsis from goodreads - the sentence that defined what a revenant is as this is something I feel should be discovered during reading.

When I saw this book was set in Paris I was immediately intrigued. Paris is such a historically rich location and I was curious to see how it as a backdrop would be used in the story. One of my favorite aspects of the book, probably because it's something I love to do, is Kate exploring her arrondissement by visiting cafés to find the perfect one for her. And when she does she sits in the corner with a good book and a cup of coffee and contentedly reads the hours away. You can tell Amy is intimately familiar with France by her subtle use of the language and references to places that fleshed out the reader's idea of Paris turning it into a realistic setting rather than an overly-described Google search. 
 
The one issue I had with it was the way that Kate and Vincent started their friendship. It would make sense that they first saw each other at the café as that's where Kate spent the majority of her time, but the subsequent meetings were bizarre and would have freaked me out if I were Kate - you can't get out of being creepy by telling a girl she's cute.

"And the girl I've seen you around the neighborhood with would be your..."
"Sister," I said slowly. "Have you been spying on me?"
"Two cute girls move to the area - what am I supposed to do?" (p 37)

Aside from the origins of their attraction I never felt that Kate was drawing away from everyone else due to her relationship with Vincent. In fact, she often spent time with Vincent's housemates and became good friends with them - and I loved them, too! Jules in particular was my favorite housemate with his flirtatious jokes yet when someone needed him he was right there. Kate's family was fun to visit and although we didn't see enough of them as I would have liked, the reasons for Kate not being home were entirely reasonable. (Going out after being depressed and staying in her room in a funk was a good sign for her them.) When Kate was at home it was easy to get a feel for just how close she and her sister, Georgia, were with her grandparents.

I don't want to give too much away by talking about what a revenant is - although if you know French you probably have an idea - or where they came from, but the idea of them was something pretty original as far as paranormal themes are concerned and played a large part in why the book was so intriguing for me. By the end of the book I was rooting for Vincent, Kate and all of her new friends. This is a book that is perfectly fine to read as a stand-alone, but there will be more coming. Hats off to Amy Plum for a great debut.

I haven't gotten too many new books lately as I'm still a week or so behind in catching up with everything I have, although I do have some holds waiting at the library.

Bought:

Buried, Robin Merrow MacCready

Hold Still, Nina LaCour

Lost Time, Susan Maupin Schmid

These guys were on sale at Amazon and I think I got them all for about $10 with free shipping courtesy of another trial of Amazon Prime.

NetGalley:

Misfit, Jon Skovron

Library:

Enclave, Ann Aguire

Tuesday I'll be receiving the bookshelf that I ordered so then I can clean up everything, organise my TBR pile, and then perhaps make another video IMM! I'm looking forward to see what you all are reading this week.

For some reason I'm having an incredibly difficult time writing this one review - for a book I enjoyed quite a bit - and so I apologise for not being all caught up on them. I might have to set it aside for now and go to the next one. What do you guys do when you're stuck on a review? I reckon I write these posts.

The other day I posted about how you would feel if you could read cut scenes from a book. While watching the Dark Days of Supernatural tour another thing also came to me, also from something Veronica Roth said. (I think I would love to sit in a coffee shop and have a chat with her.) I'm not sure of the question that prompted the answer, but I believe they were asked if there was anything that they had changed about the book during editing, although it could have been about their favorite character. Either way the one big thing about Divergent is that the first 30 pages of the book were originally written from Four's perspective which made him easier to flesh out later as Veronica always knew what he was doing relative to Tris.

My favorite series that does this is the one from my last post, A Song of Ice and Fire, but you may also be familiar with it from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series. Although most of the series is seen from Meghan's POV, Summer's Crossing is told from Puck's perspective and The Iron Knight will be from Ash's. If you could see a book from a different character's perspective, either as a companion piece or short novella, which character would you choose? And from which book?

I'm not sure that I mentioned this here, but one of my favorite characters is Severus Snape for various reasons. Although this would probably be difficult, I would like to know Snape's take on the latter half of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And if you haven't seen this deleted scene from the film version, if you're a Snape fan I think you'd enjoy it. It breaks my heart.