Top Ten Tuesday - 43

Top Ten Tuesday was started by The Broke and the Bookish for bloggers who like making lists about books.

Top Ten Characters I'd Like to Switch Places With f or 24 Hours

1. Kat from Heist Society
She's a jet-setting art thief who speaks multiple languages; I'd love to be her for a day!

2. Ellie from Angelfire
I pretty much just want to be her so I can be with Will, the most amazing love interest.

3. Anna from Anna and the French Kiss
I want to be Anna for the same reason as above (I love me some St. Clair), but I'd also love to spend a day in Paris!

4. Chelsea from Past Perfect
She gets to work at a Revolutionary War reenactment camp (like Williamsburg). I want to wear colonial dresses (as long as it's not hot)!

5. Quinn from The Secret Life of Prince Charming
I would like to spend a day with her family traveling around the Pacific Northwest.

6. Scarlett from Suite Scarlett
Three things I like about Scarlett: she's lives in New York City, her family owns a hotel and her family is awesome.

7. Sam from Sleepaway Girls
I've never been to sleepaway camp and it seems like so much fun!

8. Astrid from Bright Young Things
I would love to spend 24 hours in the 1920s!

9. Violet from Mostly Good Girls
Her life is pretty funny so I think I would get a kick out of being her for a day.

10. Violet from Violet on the Runway
Another Violet! I think it might be cool to be an international model for the day.

I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert

Summary:
Congratulations -- just by opening the cover of this book you became 25% more patriotic.

From Stephen Colbert, the host of television's highest-rated punditry show The Colbert Report, comes the book to fill the other 23 hours of your day. I Am America (and So Can You!) contains all of the opinions that Stephen doesn't have time to shoehorn into his nightly broadcast.

Dictated directly into a microcassette recorder over a three-day weekend, this book contains Stephen's most deeply held knee-jerk beliefs on The American Family, Race, Religion, Sex, Sports, and many more topics, conveniently arranged in chapter form.

Always controversial and outspoken, Stephen addresses why Hollywood is destroying America by inches, why evolution is a fraud, and why the elderly should be harnessed to millstones.

You may not agree with everything Stephen says, but at the very least, you'll understand that your differing opinion is wrong.

I Am America (and So Can You!) showcases Stephen Colbert at his most eloquent and impassioned. He is an unrelenting fighter for the soul of America, and in this book he fights the good fight for the traditional values that have served this country so well for so long. (from GoodReads)

Review:
I love Stephen Colbert and his show The Colbert Report. Like, I'm seriously in love. I even got to see a taping of his show a month ago and it was awesome!!! So it was a no-brainer that I would adore his first novel, which I did.

Everything Stephen says and does is satirical, which makes his comedy that much smarter and funnier. It can be hard to get his jokes sometimes, but overall I think he's hilarious. What I liked so much about I Am America is that I could hear Stephen talking (no, I wasn't listening to the audiobook). This book is written just as Stephen talks on his show every night, so that was pretty cool.

Like the summary suggests, I Am America is just full of Stephen's opinions on important things in American culture: religion, science, education, etc. It even includes a full transcript of Stephen's (yes, we're on a first name basis) 2006 White House Correspondent's Dinner speech. If you've never seen that, watch it online - it's so funny.

Overall, I really enjoyed I Am America and I think fans of the show will love it too!

Rating: 9 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library (but I wish I had my own copy)

2007/Grand Central Publishing/230 pages.

Win a Complete Heiress Makeover!

Jessica Brody's newest novel 52 Reasons to Hate My Father has recently been released and in honor of its publication you could win a complete heiress makeover! There are also prizes for runner-ups, so you have more of a chance to win something great! Just fill out the form below and watch the trailer for more information on the novel, which looks really good. I can't wait to read it!

Grand Winner will receive:
- online personal styling session with a wardrobe stylist
- autographed copy of 52 Reasons to Hate My Father
- "Spoiled Heiress" t-shirt
- $25 gift card to Sephora
- pair of sunglasses
- Heiress tiara

Runner-ups will receive:
- 2Jessica Brody Teen Book Collections (including autographed copies of THE KARMA CLUB, MY LIFE UNDECIDED and 52 REASONS TO HATE MY FATHER)
- Spoiled Heiress T-Shirts
- Autographed 52 REASONS TO HATE MY FATHER bookmarks!

For more information, just visit Jessica Brody's contest page

Waiting on Wednesday - 96

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine for bloggers and readers to learn about new books.
America Again: Rebecoming the Greatness We Never Weren't by Stephen Colbert

Book store nation, in the history of mankind there has never been a greater country than America. You could say we're the #1 nation at being the best at greatness.

But as perfect as America is in every single way, America is broken! And we can't exchange it because we're 236 years past the 30-day return window. Look around--we don't make anything anymore, we've mortgaged our future to China, and the Apologist-in-Chief goes on world tours just to bow before foreign leaders. Worse, the L.A. Four Seasons Hotel doesn't even have a dedicated phone button for the Spa. You have to dial an extension! Where did we lose our way?!

It's high time we restored America to the greatness it never lost!

Luckily, AMERICA AGAIN will singlebookedly pull this country back from the brink. It features everything from chapters, to page numbers, to fonts. Covering subject's ranging from healthcare ("I shudder to think where we'd be without the wide variety of prescription drugs to treat our maladies, such as think-shuddering") to the economy ("Life is giving us lemons, and we're shipping them to the Chinese to make our lemon-flavored leadonade") to food ("Feel free to deep fry this book-it's a rich source of fiber"), Stephen gives America the dose of truth it needs to get back on track. (from GoodReads)

I love The Colbert Report and I just finished reading his first book, so I'm super excited for more Stephen! America Again will be released October 2, 2012.

Top Ten Tuesday - 42

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish for bloggers who like making lists about books.

Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books

1. Panem in The Hunger Games
This is one of my favorite dystopias and part of the reason is that the world building is so incredible. In a lot of dystopias the background to how everything happened is usually not elaborated upon, but in this trilogy everything makes sense.

2. The Seven Kingdoms in A Song of Ice and Fire
George R.R. Martin's books are extremely detailed, so it feels as though the world he created is real. I cannot even believe someone has the imagination to create Westeros and the Free Cities and the rest of the places, customs, and cultures in this series.

3. The Magical World in Harry Potter
This was one of the first fantasy books I've ever read and was amazed by J.K. Rowlings's creativity. I want to go to Hogwarts!

4. The Future World in Uglies
Scott Westerfeld's novel is the first dystopia I read back in 7th grade, and I've been in love since. His world (which doesn't have a name that I know of) is very futuristic but also believable.

5. The Realm in A Great and Terrible Beauty
This book has the honor of being both fantasy and historical fiction, and Libba Bray has created two beautiful settings for each genre.

6. The South in Gone With the Wind
When I first read GWtW, I felt like I was at the plantation with Scarlett and felt her fear as the Yankees stormed Atlanta. A very atmospheric read!

7. Idris in The Mortal Instruments
Cassandra Clare's first series is contemporary fantasy, so it takes place in our world, but she did creat the fictional city of Idris. I think that counts as a vivid setting.

8. Paris in Anna and the French Kiss
This book made me want to visit France even more than I already did!

9. Austenland in Austenland
I would love to stay in an old manor and wear pretty dresses and pretend I was living as Jane Austen did (as long as we had indoor plumbing).

10. Bayern in The Goose Girl
Shannon Hale created a whole magical world in her series. I can't believe I haven't read the last one yet!

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Summary:
If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.

Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another. (from GoodReads)

Summary:
When I first started You Against Me, I really had to push myself to get into it. For some reason, whenever I read books written by British authors, I have trouble enjoying it. I think it's the slang and cultural things that I don't understand that annoys me. But I was glad I stuck with You Against Me because I ended up enjoying it.

You wouldn't think British culture would be that different than American, but reading books like this makes me see the differences. Besides the slang, I still couldn't figure out what "revising" was. Ellie was doing it practically all book, and I think it's studying, but why not just call it that? Also we got a sneak peak into the British justice system, which I wish we could have seen more of. When they said the judge was wearing a wig I had to remind myself that this was taking place in a different country.

I thought that Jenny Downham did a great job of covering the issue of rape. We see two sides of it: brother of the victim and sister of the accused. Even though Mikey and Ellie aren't exactly part of the case, they are still directly affected by it. I liked that both Mikey's and Ellie's actions and motivations were explained and I understood why they did what they did. If someone you loved was accused of a heinous crime, wouldn't you have trouble accepting that? Even though Ellie was in the wrong, I could see how someone in her position would be conflicted, especially when your family is pressuring you to defend your brother.

As I become more invested in You Against Me, the cultural differences melted away, and I started to enjoy the story as it was. Seeing Mikey and Ellie try to contend with such a horrible event and turn to each other for comfort was great and I thought their relationship was realistic. I liked seeing both sides begin the healing process, and I thought You Against Me was a story of hope, above all else.

I think many people will enjoy this book and I urge fellow Americans to give it a chance. The slang might be annoying but underneath that, there's a good story!

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library.

2010/David Fickling/413 pages.

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Summary:
New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved. (from GoodReads)

Review:
This was a 2012 debut and a dsytopia, so I was super excited to read Article 5. But while I enjoyed the story, there were some issues that I hope will be addressed before the sequel is released.

Let's start with what I liked. The plot was extremely fast-paced and a lot happens for a book with only about 350 pages. Most of the book Ember and Chase are on the run, and they gets into many shenanigans. I liked that there was never a dull moment. I was also a fan of the ending - Ember finally shows the reader what she's made of and it makes her a better character.

Now there's more that I didn't like, unfortunately. Besides Ember's redemption at the end of Article 5, she is an extremely annoying character. She has conflicted feelings for Chase, because she used to be in love with him, but now he's a hardened soldier for the regime. This makes total sense, except it would be better for all involved if she just discussed this with him. She goes from hating him, to loving him, to fearing him on a whim and we repeat this cycle every few chapters. Most of their relationship woes were based on willful miscommunication, which was used mainly as a plot device. She also refuses to listen to Chase even though he is more knowledgeable and even runs away a few times which screws up their plans.

Also, the reader never gets a definitive reason why the United States has become so rigid. All the rules are now based on morality, so now out of wedlock births, no holding hands with the opposite sex, that kind of stuff. Supposedly there was a war, but I don't understand why that would cause this kind of regression. I really hope it will be a addressed in the sequel, because if not that is a total cop-out and is lazy writing.

Like with most books, I had issues with Article 5, but they weren't so bad that I couldn't enjoy the story. I hope the second book is better because I'm interested in seeing what happens next.

Rating: 7 out of 10.
FTC: from library.

2012/Tor Teen/362 pages.