Good Books And Good Wine

Golden Blog Tour: An Interview With Jessi Kirby PLUS A Giveaway

by April (Books&Wine) May 17, 2013 5 comments

I’d love to welcome Jessi Kirby to Good Books And Good Wine today. She’s the author of one of my favorite books so far this year - Golden. She graciously agreed to answer a few of my burning questions, so y’all listen up and stick around because there’s a contest at the end!

Parker is a very intense, very studious girl. Were you at all like Parker in high school?

I was no valedictorian, thanks to Math and Chemistry, but I was very much like Parker in high school as far as her character goes. I did what I was supposed to, stayed out of trouble, was always very goal-oriented, and also had a huge streak of hopeless romantic in me!

Golden is a beautifully written book, and definitely my favorite of your books so far. Can you talk a little bit about how you’ve grown as a writer since Moonglass?

Thank you so much! Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but Golden is my favorite too–and not just because it’s the newest on. It’s a story that’s very close to my heart, and probably the most “me,” and yet it felt incredibly difficult the entire time I was writing it, so thank you for thinking that it shows growth! That’s the goal isn’t it? To push yourself to become better with each book.

What did you plan to do with your One Wild And Precious Life at 17?

At 17 I planned to travel the world and be a writer. I’ve got the second part taken care of, and one day when my kids are grown and it’s just my husband and I, we’ll do the traveling part too!

Parker has a rebellion in the form of a road trip. Do you have any great road trip memories? Care to share?

My most favorite road trip was the one I took in the name of “research” for IN HONOR. My mom, my sister and I drove all around Arizona hitting the spots I wanted to work into the story–including Sedona and its vortexes (ices?), the country bar with the cute cowboys and Dime Beer Night, and the swimming hole where Rusty and Honor cool off. It was a total blast.

About The Book:

Love, tragedy, and mystery converge in this compelling novel from “an author to watch” (Booklist).

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference

Published by: Simon & Schuster
To Be Released on: May 14th, 2013
Purchase it from: Simon & Schuster | IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads

Golden by Jessi Kirby | Good Books And Good Wine

About The Author:

Jessi Kirby is the author of Golden, which will be released in May of 2013, Moonglass, In Honor. She is also a former English teacher and librarian, wife, mom, beach lover, runner, and lover of Contemporary YA, strong coffee, and dark chocolate. In that order. (quote from Jessi’s website)

Find out more about GOLDEN here.
Follow Jessi via her Website | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads

Here is all the info for the GOLDEN blog tour http://mundiemomsblogtours.blogspot.com/2013/05/blog-tour-golden-by-jessi-kirby.html

The Contest: We’re giving away a Jessi Kirby prize pack featuring GOLDEN and each of her books! Be sure to enter using the rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reboot | Amy Tintera | Book Review

by April (Books&Wine) May 17, 2013 8 comments

Y’all, I am totally surprised at how much I enjoyed Reboot by Amy Tintera and the rate at which I devoured it. Seriously, I read it in like 3 days which is pretty good for a 360ish page book (note: I also tend to read multiple books at a time). I found myself really into the swoonworthy relationship within Reboot, y’all Callum and Wren are the deal and OMG who does not love it when the girl is stronger than the boy? Seriously, I love it when the female is the alpha of the relationship, which is basically what happens in Reboot.

Reboot Amy Tintera Book Cover

Wren is a reboot, meaning that she has died and come back to life. She was dead for 178 minutes before she rebooted, which in the context of Tintera’s Reboot means that Wren is less human than all of the other reboots. Wren is content with her lot in life, being a reboot means she has shelter, clothing, and is fed regularly. Her life pre-reboot certainly was not that good – she lived in the slums with drug addict parents and experienced food uncertainty. In exchange for being fed, the reboots work for HARC, a sort of government organization. Reboots are a bit like soldiers, so they conduct missions to catch people that HARC deems to be criminals. Wren never questions this and has quite a bit of blood on her hands. With the arrival of Callum, or Twenty-Two, Wren’s outlook starts to take a change and she begins to wonder if she actually has retained some of her humanity after all.

Tintera really did well at character development in Reboot. Wren is a dynamic character, who goes from being a bit of a cyborg with no emotions to allowing herself to genuinely feel things. As a reader, getting Wren’s backstory in small tidbits and very, very brief flashbacks made me much more engaged in the story. It also helped me to understand why Wren is the way she is, besides her high number. Also, although Wren is incredibly strong and a fierce fighter, she is still vulnerable about some things, like her looks.

The world within Reboot is a tad bit confusing. You see, all that seems to be left of the United States is Texas. Texas is then divided into little city-states with Austin being the capitol. A virus has spread through the US, called KDH and it causes people to reboot after death. Adults who reboot turn dangerous, so they are immediately killed. However, when children and teenagers reboot, they are used as weapons and a means of control. There are also very wide income gaps in Tintera’s world, where the rich are called rico and live in walled areas. The poor all live in slums. Food is very scarce. However, there are the whisperings of a rebellion against HARC which starts to take seed in Wren’s mind.

If you read young adult for the romance, Reboot by Amy Tintera certainly will not disappoint you. There is neither instalove nor a love triangle within this young adult debut. The relationship between Wren and Callum unfolds at a logical pace and begins with attraction, but not love. It takes Wren a bit of time to acknowledge and realize that she has feelings for him. Although Callum is a very low number and a lot more human than Wren, their attraction makes sense. He makes her laugh, he listens to her, and he genuinely is not afraid of Wren like everyone else. Also, there is totally some kissing in Reboot, so if you enjoy that chances are you will love this book.

Tintera’s debut dystopian is a very quick read with short chapters. At first, the world she built is a bit confusing, but within 50 pages you will be able to understand what is going on and the world that you have been thrown into. If you are a fan of books about teenage rebellion, love stories and dystopian societies, you should definitely give Reboot by Amy Tintera a shot.

Disclosure: Received for review via Amazon Vine

Other reviews of Reboot by Amy Tintera:

The Flyleaf Review – “I can honestly say that I had no issues with the romance.”
A Girl, A Book, And Other Things – “Is it perfect? not really, but it’s not bad”
Hobbitsies – “a solid and enjoyable story”

Zebra Forest | Adina Rishe Gewirtz | Book Review

by April (Books&Wine) May 16, 2013 2 comments

Perhaps this makes me sound like a total hipster, but I enjoy reading books that aren’t very commercial. I love books that have some literary merit as well as entertainment value. When Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz popped up on my radar, I knew I had to read this middle grade debut. First of all, it’s published by Candlewick, from whom I have come to expect intelligent books. Second of all, that cover y’all. That cover. Third, I love books about siblings and troubled kids. Fourth, it seemed like it would be a quiet and not very in your face sort of read — which is another thing that I very much appreciate. Thankfully, for me, Zebra Forest delivered on all fronts.

Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz | Good Books And Good Wine

Annie and Rew are brother and sister. They live with their grandma in a house on the outskirts of a forest that they call zebra forest, because of the trees. Annie is the oldest, at 11 years old and is mature for her years. You see, her grandma is kind of agoraphobic, so it’s up to Annie to pick up groceries and pay bills. School has let out for the summer. The summer should be relatively low key. Only, there’s this big jail break out. Unfortunately, one of the escaped convicts decides to take up residence in Annie’s house and holds them all hostage. Mirroring this is the hostage situation in Iran, which Annie sees on the news (again, I love literary books with themes and stuff, ESPECIALLY BOOKS AIMED AT KIDS). Of course, some secrets come to light and with each turn of the pages of Zebra Forest, I found myself surprised, but also enraptured by the writing style. ALSO. Going in, I totally did not realize that Zebra Fiction was historical fiction, so that was also a pleasant surprise.

Annie is quite precocious but not in an annoying way. I mean, she’s reading things like Treasure Island, which shows up quite a bit in Zebra Forest and discussing why certain characters are her favorite. As a fellow reader, I love when characters express their love of certain treasured books. I also loved how close Annie is with her brother, Rew. I love how she kind of takes care of him. I know I know, kids shouldn’t play the surrogate role at all, that’s not okay, but their bond was very special to me. I also liked how responsible Annie was, like she has her self together, more together than a lot of older people. I suppose, I just really identified with her, even if I could not decide if she had Stockholm syndrome or not.

Going in, I knew that Zebra Forest would not be one of those plot thrill ride sort of books and to not expect that, despite the summary. So, I read this book for the characterization and depiction of family relationships. I was actually very satisfied by the book. I loved how complicated the relationships were- both between Annie and Rew and between Annie and the convict. I loved the in-depth look we got at each of the characters. It goes without saying that Adina Rishe Gewirtz did not dumb down her book for the audience. I actually think that clever kids who loved books like Bridge To Terabithia will enjoy Zebra Forest.

Disclosure: Received for review

Other reviews of Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz:

Pretty Deadly Reviews – “a quiet, character-driven emotional tilt-a-whirl.”
Great Imaginations – “Make no mistake, this is not a book for everyone.”

Fill Your Kindle: Some Random Deals I Found

by April (Books&Wine) May 15, 2013 1 comment

Okay, so not a totally organized post like I normally do, but I was browsing and stumbled on the motherlode and because I want to go to bed with my book, I thought instead of being super organized and such I would be lazy just this once and just throw all the deals up. As of right now these books are under $5 but you’ll have to click and look at them to be sure of the price — most of the ones I am finding are in the $1.99-$3.99 range!

Fill Your Kindle | Books Under $5 | February 2013 Editon

The Deals:

Sky On Fire | Emmy Laybourne | Book Review

by April (Books&Wine) May 15, 2013 4 comments

Are you looking for a book that will keep you riveted during a reading marathon, like Bout of Books or the 24 Hour Readathon? Are you a few books behind on your goodreads goal and in need of a boost? ARE YOU DYING TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THE KIDS FROM MONUMENT 14? Did you answer yes to any of those questions? Well, Sky On Fire by Emmy Laybourne totally has your number. It is the exciting sequel to Monument 14 and so because it’s impossible to talk about it without spoilers, from here on out there will be Monument 14 spoilers discussed in this review of Sky On Fire which you guys, I am pretty sure I read in about an hour and a half, this book is SO FAST, but I actually quite enjoyed my time with it.

Sky On Fire by Emmy Laybourn | Good Books And Good Wine

Sky On Fire opens exactly where Monument 14 leaves off. Basically, the kids have split into two groups. One group stays in the store because Astrid is pregnant and also because they have the type of blood that turns them into those fast zombies from 28 Days Later. The other group commandeers the bus and begins the drive to Denver airport because that is where the safe zone is, and they also leave in hopes of mounting a rescue mission for the people still in Monument 14. Sky On Fire is narrated in alternating chapters by brothers Dean and Alex. As you may remember from Monument 14, Dean was the main narrator and the one who had the crush on Astrid and Alex was his technologically adept younger brother. Essentially, this sequel gives us a glimpse of what’s going on in the outside world and shows that the kids are not the only people left in the world. It also shows just how widespread and bad the ‘apocalypse’ damage whatever you want to call it is.

Out of the two narrators, I liked Alex the best. It’s probably because he isn’t nearly as creepy as I find Dean. Also, he comes across as levelheaded and useful. While it sounds kind of bizarre, I quite like reading about useful characters during dystopias. I also thought Alex’s part was more complex because he’s treated as a child or a little kid, and yet he knows he is more mature than a child, intellectually. So, there’s sort of a struggle for him to be taken seriously and to actually be considered by the other kids. As for Dean, because he stayed back, he is considered the de facto leader of the group at the Monument store. Dean and Astrid also hook up and become a couple. As a reader, I am not entirely sure how I feel about that because Dean was kind of a creep show in the first book. Anyways, I just found myself sort of biding my time to get back to Alex’s chapters because they were much more interesting.

As for the side characters, I still really love Batiste, the religious little kid, Ulysses, the little kid who is Hispanic and Niko, the leader boy scout who brings the splinter group to Denver. There is not a crazy amount of character development for the minor characters or supporting characters I guess that’s the term, BUT I thought that was fine. Yo, Sky On Fire is only 212 pages so it is not like you can throw the entire kitchen sink in there. Plus, I read Monument 14 so I knew what to expect. I knew to expect characters with quirks and affectations, but not to expect some treatise on coming of ages and changes and what not. Hell no, I knew to expect PLOT PLOT PLOT.

That’s the thing, Sky On Fire is totally plot driven and not very character driven. I felt that the writing was alright, I mean I wasn’t highlighting the pages or anything. A need of mine was fulfilled though, the need for entertainment. Of course, there’s going to be a lot that you will have to suspend your disbelief for. I will say, there’s a ton of interesting coincidences as the characters venture into the outside world. Like, to the point of being unbelievable, which obviously duh, this is fiction so it’s not like it will be realistic. Still, I had to suspend a lot of my disbelief while reading and just sit back and enjoy the ride.

To be one hundred percent honest, I sort of wish the end of Sky On Fire by Emmy Laybourne had wrapped up better, but it totally makes it so there can be a sequel. There is not a huge cliffhanger or anything, you can close the book and basically be done with the series without a whole existential crisis of wondering what happened to the characters. Yet, the door is still open for a sequel. Personally, I didn’t think too terribly hard about while reading. Sky On Fire is a pure popcorn read, know that going in and you will be fine.

Disclosure: Received for review.

Other reviews of Sky On Fire by Emmy Laybourne:

Scott Reads It – “I definitely enjoyed it more than it’s predecessor.”
Chick Loves Lit – “a definite must read for fans of MONUMENT 14.”
Reading Teen – “I love the constant sense of danger in these books.”

Books by Emmy Laybourne:
Monument 14