Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

After five months of sheer absolute craziness I was going back to being plain old background D.J. In photographs of course I’m always in the background . . .
But it turns out other folks have big plans for D.J. Like her coach. College scouts. All the town hoops fans. A certain Red Bend High School junior who’s keen for romance and karaoke. Not to mention Brian Nelson, who she should not be thinking about! Who she is done with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway . . .
 
Readers first fell in love with straight-talking D. J. Schwenk in Dairy Queen; they followed her ups and downs both on and off the court in The Off Season. Now D. J.steps out from behind the free-throw line in this final installment of the Dairy Queen trilogy

The thing I love about this series is how real it is. D.J. is a down to earth tomboy who loves her family, her dog, and sports. She even makes me love sports, and I'm the least athletic person in the world. D.J. is one of those characters that you instantly love even though you can't exactly figure out why, honestly I think my favorite thing about D.J. is her relationship with Curtis, we only see little snapshots of it but every time we do I love it! Best siblings ever!

This book was definitely a great end to the series, we saw resolve in D.J.'s relationships and a glimpse at where her future was going (well more than a glimpse, the whole book is basically her planning her future). While it wasn't a tear jerker like the second book in the trilogy it had some awesome emotion in it, I thought Murdock did a great job of capturing the panic that teens go through while thinking about college.

A great end to a great series! I'll miss you D.J., good luck! From one Wisconsin girl to another :)

Cover: 4/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Ending 5/5

In My Mailbox

In my mailbox is a weekly MeMe hosted by The Story Siren where bloggers share what they've gotten to read this week.

From the library:

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

I've been wanting to read this for awhile, I think the whole ghost love story thing sounds fun.

Matched by Ally Condie

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about this one, but the storyline sounds good to me!

Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell

I really like the cover, the plot kind of reminds me of 13 Little Blue Envelopes, which I enjoyed.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Super excited about this one! I LOVED the Percy Jackson series and I'm so excited to be revisiting Camp Half-Blood!

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly MeMe where bloggers share the books that tget can't wait to read.

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents are forced to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to bring Melody back to Goodside and convince her that “pregging” for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Release Date: April 26th, 2011

This book sounds ridiculously good! I can't wait to read it!

In My Mailbox

In my mailbox is a weekly MeMe hosted by The Story Siren where bloggers share what they've got to read this week.

From the Library:

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

 I've been wanting to read this series for awhile, I always really enjoy vampire books.



A Novel Idea by Aimee Friedman

I love these cheesy love stories, they always have a happy ending!

Not very much this week, but still a ton in my reading pile!

What did you get in your mailbox?

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly MeMe hosted by Breaking the Spine where you share one of the books you are currently waiting on.

What I'm waiting on this week:

Fury of the Phoenix (kingdom of Xia #2)

Cindy Pon’s debut novel Silver Phoenix was called “fluid and exhilarating” in a starred review from Booklist, and Meg Cabot called it “an addictive gem.” In this companion novel, seventeen-year-old Ai Ling—her powers stronger than ever—stows away aboard a cargo ship in order to protect devastatingly handsome Chen Yong during his quest to locate his father. Masquerading as brother and sister, Ai Ling and Chen Yong face demonic predators on the ocean voyage, but their biggest threat comes from the kingdom of the dead. Part supernatural page-turner, part love story, and altogether stirring, Fury of the Phoenix further heralds the arrival of Cindy Pon as a stellar author of paranormal romance and fantasy.
O.K. I know I gave Silver Phoenix a so-so review, but I can't wait to see what happens between Ai Ling and Chen Yong!

What are you waiting on this week?



For those of us who love Sarah Dessen

If you don't know who Sarah Dessen is and you frequently read YA then you might be living under a rock, but just in case I'll give you a brief description of who she is. Sarah Dessen is the author of nine YA novels including, The Truth about Forever, Someone Like You, and Just Listen (my personal favorite). While some may say that the plots in the last couple of books she has written are sort of the same, which they are, I won't argue, they contain some great writing, awesome characters, and interesting teen issues. Her upcoming novel is entitled Whatever Happened to goodbye and she recently posted an excerpt of it on her live journal, so I thought I'd post the link for it on here so people could enjoy.

The Link: http://writergrl.livejournal.com/527210.html

The Cover:

If the link above doesn't work you can go to www.sarahdessen.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you'll find a link to her live journal.

Happy Monday everyone! :D

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly MeMe hosted by The Story Siren where bloggers share what they've gotten to read this week.

From the Library:

hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I've heard a lot of good things about this one. A little hesitant to read it, i'm not the biggest fan on the whole fallen angel storyline (Blue Bloods series not included).

Pies & Prejudice by Heather Vogel - Frederick

The Fourth book in the Mother-Daughter book club series. Love these books!

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

A dystopian novel, enough said.



Violet Eyes: A retelling of The Princess and the Pea by Debbie Viguie

Part of the once Upon A Time series, short reads but always good.

What did you get in your mailbox?