Seven Tears Into the Sea by Terri Farley

Title: Seven Tears Into the Sea

Author: Terri Farley

Pages: 279

Genre: YA/Teen

Source: Win via Tales of Whimsy

Beckon the sea,

I'll come to thee....

Shed seven tears,

perchance seven years....

At the age of ten, Gwen Cooke had a strange encounter with a boy with dark, slightly tilted eyes. He came to her on the beach, whispered strange words in her ear, and then disappeared. Shortly thereafter, her family moved away from their seaside home and Gwen never saw the boy again.

Now seventeen, Gwen is returning to her childhood home. Her nana asked her to come. But Gwen knows it's time to go back for another reason: She yearns for the sea. Perhaps the sea itself is calling to her. Perhaps the memory of the boy and his haunting words are drawing her back to the place they met. Perhaps it's time for her to face her destiny. [via GoodReads]

This is the first time I ever hear of selkies. As per Wikipedia - Selkies (also known as silkies or selchies) are mythological creatures that are found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish folklore. Selkies are able to become human by taking off their seal skins, and can return to seal form by putting it back on.

In Seven Tears Into the Sea, Ms. Farley tells the tale of a selkie boy and his lady love.  What I most enjoyed about this story was the writing - it flows with a lyrical quality making the story sometimes feel sad and other worldly, yet there were times that were light and funny.  Her characters are realistically portrayed although there is a paranormal element.  The descriptions of the beach, the town, and the bed and breakfast  where Gwen is helping out at during the summer, really give it a relaxed feel but at the same time there are so many moments where it feels whimsical - almost like a modern day fairytale.

The story is told through Gwen's perspective so you only get to see and feel what she does.  I wish we would have learned a little bit more of Jesse - this would be my only complaint.  But I was still pleased with the story as told through Gwen's eyes. The relationship that forms between them is sigh worthy and even tear inducing (on my part). 

All in all, this was a lovely story.  Ms. Farley masterfully uses the selkie myths and interweaves them into this story - making it a poignant yet mesmerizing read.  I found it to be a very refreshing, unique and the perfect summer read.  

My Rating:

Bookcase of the Week - Starring ... ME!

Welcome to the all new and improved Bookcase of the Week. Every week I plan on showcasing one blogger's bookcase(s).  That's right - I've asked them to show us their shelves, their favorite reading nooks and even where the magic happens, where they blog.  

I thought the easiest way to get the ball rolling was for me to break the ice.  So here they are... my precious bookcases!! 

You guys might recognize this bad boy.  He's quite popular amongst the ladies.  Some of you might recognize him, some of you might even own one of him... that's right, it's Billy from IKEA!  I actually have two Billy's and I'm in need of a third - since the first two are completely full now.

This is the first bookcase I got.  There's a little bit of everything in here. Back when I was filling it I was more eclectic (not that I'm not anymore) on my reading tastes.  Notice the Harry Potter's up top, the Stephenie Meyer's in the middle, and all sorts of adult fiction and chick-lit scattered throughout.   I wasn't THAT into YA back then. 

This is Billy #2 - now here you can see where my love for YA began to grow.  Most everything in here is YA.  Except for some stragglers from different genres that I've really enjoyed or they are hanging around until I find them a happy home. 

My third bookcase (see below) is smaller. These guys look more like cubby holes. If you notice I even have baskets at the bottom - which I'm going to begin filling with books soon enough. Here I keep my library books, books that I am participating in a blog tour, my more recent acquisitions, and books that I have accepted for review. I guess you would say my more immediate TBR pile - or the one's that I should be reading.

Now whatever can't be found on these shelves is sitting on my nightstand table, or my kitchen counter (because that's where I hold books for a week - just so I can organize myself and calculate what, who, when, why and where.

Last but not least, from left to right - you can find my home computer.  I do most of my blogging here, although I also have a laptop that I lug around all over the house.  My favorite reading spot in the house.  The big windows behind it provide plenty of lighting and for some reason when I lay on the chair it gives great neck support.  The last picture is of my dog Grant.  He is my constant companion while I'm sitting or laying on my chair reading so I thought he was intrinsic to your understanding of what my reading at home entailed.

And there you have it.  The first post for the Bookcase of the Week feature.  I hope you all enjoyed a view of my shelves as well as my favorite blogging accessories.  Up next we'll see what Rachel from Parajunkee's View has to show us.

RIP V Challange

I have (once again) been looking forward to this challenge all year long. This is one of my favorite challenges because it gets me in that Halloween mood (and some of you should know this is one of my favorite holidays). Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting the R.I.P. (the fifth) Challenge again this year! I love spooky, scary and horror-filled stories around this time of year.  So this challenge is always one I like to partake of.  This year I will once again challenge myself to :

Read four books, any length, that you feel fits my very broad definition of scary. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming or Edgar Allan Poe…or anyone in between.

Here is my list of potential reads:

- City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare  (dark fantasy)

- Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie (ghost story)

- The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (horror)

- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (gothic)

- Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus (mystery)

- Torment by Lauren Kate (gothic)

- Tales of Terror from the Black Ship - Chris Priestley (horror / shorts)

I'm sure there will be changes and additions, but for now these are the one's I'm considering.

R.I.P. V officially runs from September 1st through October 31st.  You want to join - here's the sign-up post.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Crank

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Pages: 537

Genre: YA/Teen

Source: Library

Kristina is a good girl.  She's intelligent, has a bright future ahead of her... so why is there a Bree?  Bree is Kristina's alter-ego - she has been lying dormant for years.  But things are about to change - Bree wants out.  

On a trip to visit her estranged father, Kristina or should I say Bree, meets Adam.  He's someone Kristina would never think of dating, but Bree sees Adam and knows he must be hers. When Adam introduces her to Crank, Kristina knows he is no good for her, but instead Bree finds freedom and bliss.   Kristina never would have made the choices Bree made. But who cares about Kristina... Bree is in control now. 

Ms. Hopkins does an excellent job of making you, the reader, feel as if you are falling headlong into the deep, dark hole that Kristina finds herself in once she encounters Crank, or as she calls it, the monster.  Told in verse, this story, although heartbreaking and even depressing, is masterfully told.  Ms. Hopkins' words are sparse but they carry quite the punch.  As someone who was recently introduced to a story told in verse, I can honestly say, that I found Ms. Hopkins storytelling enthralling.  I was captured from her introductory paragraph before I had even started the story.  I was not aware that this story was inspired by events that occurred with her own daughter - making it an even more powerful and emotional read. 

I really felt that the use of verse was particularly effective in this novel. Even the formatting of the paragraphs is significant - taking all sorts of shapes, changing of fonts, etc., used to depict how Kristina/Bree is feeling (whether it be the high from drugs, a music rhythm, her lack of sleep, or even her need for booze or cigarettes).  

All in all, Crank was a riveting read.  It's obviously not something for everyone - but I believe it realistically captures a teens struggles with drugs, sex, alcohol and addiction.  When I first heard of Crank I was a bit intimidated by it.  The subject matter is not one to take lightly and have you seen the size of this thing - at 500+ pages, I was a bit worried that I would feel overwhelmed by it.  I have to say that this was not the case.  Instead I devoured this very quickly.  As a mother, I feel that Crank is a learning experience.   I would recommend for parents to read and then pass on to their teens.  It is a great book than can lead to some very important discussions.

My Rating:

Halo - the new book trailer!

I am dying to read this book! This book trailer is so pretty - now I'm even more excited about it.

ALEXANDRA ADORNETTO was fourteen when she published her first book,The Shadow Thief, in Australia. The daughter of two English teachers, she admits to being a compulsive book buyer who has run out of shelf space, and now stacks her reading “in wobbly piles on my bedroom floor.” Alex lives in Melbourne, Australia; Halo marks her U.S. debut. 

Something Wicked [cool] This Way Comes

Most of you have already noticed the changes at All About {n} - but I do want to give you guys a heads up on what's to come.

Obviously, first things first, the lovely layout design created for yours truly by the amazingly talented Danny at Dreamy Blog Designs.  Pretty much everything you see here was created by her. le sigh...  I still can't stop looking at it ;)

Secondly, I am implementing a rating system.  From now on, all book reviews will have a rating at the bottom of the post as well as I will be enclosing ISBN info, Amazon link-up, number of pages, etc. And each review post will also now start with Book Review: and the name of book and author.  It's easier to find this way - whether it be through a search engine, twitter and even your Google Readers.  It makes life simpler for everyone.

There will also be some new weekly features that I have been working on.  

 

So Many Books So Little Time - this feature will host upcoming titles that I can't wait to get my hands on, books that I'm dreaming about owning and just anything that I can't help but NEED in order to increase by TBR piles. These are books that I'm waiting on, wishing on, and will travel miles to obtain. Yes, even if it means going ninja and having to fight a mob for it.

Bookcase of the Week - has been revamped.  I originally was posting these fabulous bookcases that I would find online, but I've decided why post bookcases that we'll never own, don't have the space for, or will never be able to afford.  Instead I've contacted some prominent bloggers and asked them to share their bookshelves, where they read, where they blog.  We want to see it all!!  Many of them have agreed and the first post should be up within a day or two.  I'm really excited about this one!  

 In gratitude for your unwavering following of my little blog - I've bought all these fabulous gifts that I plan on giving away.  The first one was the box set of the first six books of The Black Dagger Brotherhood which is already up.  I also got something for my YA followers and something for my contemporary romance lovers.  I figured this way I had a little something to encompass all my readers - since I have an eclectic bunch - much like my reading tastes.

And there you have it my lovelies.  These are just some of the changes that I have planned.  I hope to hear your feedback on them and hope you enjoy them as much as I do getting them together for you all.