The Daughters Take the Stage (Daughters #3) by Joanna Philbin

Current Giveaway on Alison Can Read 

GIVEAWAY: 30th Birthday $30 Amazon Gift Card

The Daughters Take the Stage (Daughters #3) by Joanna Philbin
May 10, 2011; Poppy

Summary

The daughter of chart-topping pop star Holla Jones, stylish and sensitive Hudson Jones is on the brink of her own musical debut. Hudson has inherited her mother's talent, but she hasn't yet embraced Holla's love of the megawatt spotlight. Can Hudson find a way to perform that reflects her own low-key style? Or will Holla see to it that her only daughter becomes a pop music sensation?

Go behind the music in this third novel in Joanna Philbin's stylish and heartfelt Daughters series.

Review

Now that Jen Calonita has finished her Secrets of My Hollywood Life series, I need a cute, fluffy series to replace it. Joanna Philbin's The Daughters series fits the bill perfectly. Nice characters, strong friendships, some romance, and uplifting messages. Fame, fashion, and wealth. Just what I want in my light, contemporary reading material.

The third Daughters books focuses on the final character in the trio: Hudson. Hudson is the daughter of pop superstar Holla Jones. I'm imagining that she's somewhat like Madonna in personality and style, either intentionally or unintentionally. Holla is a notoriously difficult person to work or live with. She needs to constantly control everything. Nothing is more important than controlling her only child, Hudson.

Unlike her mother, Hudson is a kind, gentle character who lives to please. She disagrees with her mother often, but would rather go along with her to keep the peace. Unfortunately, Holla's ideas have taken Hudson in a direction that she doesn't want to go. Hudson wants to be a jazz/soul singer who plays in intimate clubs. Holla has instead planned out a huge pop star future for her daughter (think Willow Smith). Hudson doesn't know how to say no.

After focusing on a more prickly, spoiled (although still nice) character in the second Daughters book, it is a welcome change to have Hudson as the main character. She is just as privileged as Lizzie and Carina, but her low self-esteem makes her seem down-to-earth and relateable. While she can't say no to people, her inherent kindness also makes it easier for her to give people chances. This enables her to make friends in places she wouldn't expect. It's pleasant inhabiting Hudson's mind even when you want her to grow a backbone.

As you would expect, this book is all about self-growth. Hudson learns to stick up for herself and live her own dreams. I don't think it's a spoiler for me to say this. These books are predictable, but you don't read them for a surprising plot arc. Rather, read The Daughters series for the pleasant journey towards an expected ending. The characters are such nice people - girls I would want to be friends with in real life. There's some romance in the books (although less in this one than the others), but the primary focus is on friendship.

The Daughters is a fabulous series. Perfect for younger YA readers but still interesting enough that older YA readers will enjoy it.

Rating: 4 / 5

Cracked Blog Tour: Teenage Garage Sale

Please welcome K.M. Walton, the author if Cracked to Alison Can Read!

Check out her new book Cracked. It will be released on January 3, 2012 by Simon Pulse.
Also check out Ms. Walton's fabulous website!

Summary

Sometimes there's no easy way out.

Victor hates his life. He has no friends, gets beaten up at school, and his parents are always criticizing him. Tired of feeling miserable, Victor takes a bottle of his mother's sleeping pills—only to wake up in the hospital.

Bull is angry, and takes all of his rage out on Victor. That makes him feel better, at least a little. But it doesn't stop Bull's grandfather from getting drunk and hitting him. So Bull tries to defend himself with a loaded gun.

When Victor and Bull end up as roommates in the same psych ward, there's no way to escape each other or their problems. Which means things are going to get worse—much worse—before they get better…. (courtesy of Goodreads)

Teenage Garage Sale

First I’d like to thank Alison for inviting me to guest post today! Now onto the big sale….

I love garage sales. The thrill of selling or finding treasures is exciting to me. I started out selling my junk at the tender age of twelve – to my three younger sisters – and they all fell for it. I used to set up shop on the dining room table and sell my mother’s old makeup and stuff I found around my house. Yes, my sisters still like me.

If I were to have an actual garage sale as the teen me—circa the 80s—I’d definitely have the following items:

1. Full set of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK sheets—circa 1981 - $4.00
2. Sweatshirts with the collars cut out, by hand, from my Flashdance days—circa 1982-
$1.00 each
3. Plastic neon earrings…various colors - .50 cents a pair
4. The Sugar Hill Gang album - $3.00
5. A worn out copy of FOREVER by Judy Blume (a rogue copy that my former babysitter
smuggled into our house in a brown paper bag – literally – because I was NOT allowed to read such a racy novel) - .50 cents
6. My black combat boots from my Mohawk days—circa 1985 - $4.00
7. My Army surplus bag covered with buttons that doubled as my cool-ass purse—circa
1985 - $3.00
8. My boom box with a Depeche Mode cassette tape in the player - $5.00

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Current Giveaway on Alison Can Read 

GIVEAWAY: 30th Birthday $30 Amazon Gift Card

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
September 29, 2011; Dutton

Summary

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Stephanie Perkins has created a formula for the perfect romance novel. Part of me wonders if she actually has a physical formula written down. Why? Because Lola and the Boy Next Door has so many of the same elements that made Anna and the French Kiss wonderful. The comparisons between Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door aren't obvious. You have to carefully break each book down into elements: setting, very well developed secondary characters, flawed but lovable main characters, conflict, squeal-inducing romance. On the surface, the two books are very different, but if you read carefully, you'll notice a lot of things in common. Part of me is disappointed by the formulaic feel. But another part is really impressed. Stephanie figured out just what makes a romance novel work and how to take significantly different plots and characters and fit both into the formula.

Elements:

Main Characters:

Lola makes and breaks this book for me. I love Lola's vivacity. I love how she is an accomplished seamstress and is obsessed with costumes. Her costumes make her personality shine while also masking a deep-seeded insecurity. She is also stubborn, self-righteous, and quick to jump to conclusions. A fairly normal teen. Overall, she is a more engaging character than Anna. I'll address my problems with her in the conflict section.

Cricket. I can't say his name without a little squeal. What a fabulous guy! He's as nice as can be. Awkward and nerdy. A little insecure. Very patient. I love that, despite being a freshman in college, he's more "boyish" than many of the typical YA "men."

Conflict: Three's a crowd. In Anna, Etienne's girlfriend was the conflict. In Lola, it's Lola's boyfriend. Lola is dating Max, a hip, indie rockstar in his early 20s. This is the main problem I had with Lola. Not that her relationship wasn't written well. Rather, I spent a good portion of the book wanting to use said book to slap Lola upside the head. Lola and Max exemplify why teenage girls should not date older guys. Lola loses herself around Max. She hero-worships him. If Max told her that she doesn't look good in pink, she'd throw away every pink outfit she had, even if it was her favorite color. I see why she likes him - he's sexy, charming, and talented. But Max is a jerk - controlling, self-righteous, arrogant. The type of guy who thinks it's cool to mold a young girl into what he wants her to be. Lola isn't old enough or self-confident enough to recognize that for a long time. I thought Lola's relationship with her boyfriend was very realistic, but it was hard to read.

Well Developed Secondary Characters: Anna focused on friends, as one expects in a boarding school setting. The strongest characters in Lola are her parents: her dads Nathan and Andy and her mom Norah. This is the first book I've read where a character's parents were gay. I loved how their "differentness" wasn't a plot point in Lola. They were fabulous parents who happened to be gay. Nathan and Andy are attentive dads, funny, caring, thoughtful, and have raised Lola to shine. I loved how close Lola was to her parents. Lola's ne'er-do-well biological mother easily could have been a flat, loser character, but we see that she is neither good nor bad. There are also good friend characters. Lola's best friend Lindsay was fabulous. Funny, loyal, and quirky yet she avoided the crazy best friend stereotype. I also found Calliope, Cricket's twin sister, to be a layered, if not likable character.

Romance: Just as sweet as in Anna! The perfect mixture of friendship and passion. We get to know each character before anything happens. Unlike most YA novels, we witness the build-up. No insta-love. Technically, Lola and Cricket have had a thing for each other their whole lives, but their relationship slowly changes from a stand-off, to friendship, to romance. It feels like something that could actually occur in real life. I like that the romance isn't entirely hot and heavy. It's sweet and touching more than anything else.

Companion: Stephanie Perkins understands the definition of a companion novel! Anna and Etienne are characters in Lola. But it's not a disguised sequel. They add another layer to the story. The book would function fine without them, but it's better because they're there. They never try to steal Lola and Cricket's thunder.

Setting: Love the San Francisco setting. It doesn't have the depth that Paris did in Anna, but Lola highlights some of the quirky sides of San Francisco that you don't normally see.

If I had to choose between Lola and the Boy Next Door and Anna and the French Kiss, I'd probably choose Anna. I like Lola better than Anna, but I like Etienne a little better than Cricket (is that blasphemy?). I love how Lola and Anna feel very similar yet entirely different. Lola and the Boy Next Door is a sweet story with fun characters, fabulous romance, and a great plot that will immediately hook you. Just like Lola the girl, Lola and the Boy Next Door is glowing neon and full of life.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Carrier of the Mark Blog Tour: Adam's House

I'm honored to be a part of the blog tour for Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon. The book comes out on October 4, 2011. I read it last week and really liked it. I definitely recommend you all check it out!

Summary

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

Meet the Author: Leigh Fallon

Leigh Fallon was born in South Africa, raised in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Cork in her twenties. While living in beautiful Kinsale, her novel, Carrier of the Mark, was conceived. She promptly abandoned her “riveting” career in corporate treasury and discovered Inkpop, a website for budding writers of teen fiction. Within weeks, her manuscript hit the coveted top-five spot and was reviewed by an editor at HarperCollins. A few emails and some hysterical screaming later, she signed her first deal. Leigh and her family now share their time between Ireland and the United States.

Next Stop: Be sure to stop by A Bookworm's Haven on Wednesday October 5 for the next stop on the tour!

Adam's house

The DeRises house is an old farm house that is slightly outside Kinsale town. It’s just off the road that runs along the Bandon estuary, and is a bit off the beaten track. The house was once quite beautiful, but time has withered its beauty, but it has a warm homely vibe to it and an air of old faded decadence. Out the back of the house is a walled courtyard, surround on all sides by old walls and a ruin of a tower, and on one side are the gates to the yard from the drive that leads in from the road.

In the Carrier of the Mark, the DeRises house had been in their mother’s family for years. It was built way back on Echoed lands, meaning it is protected. Because of the age of the house and the history that goes with it, there are lots of rumors about the land and the families that have lived there. People tell haunting stories of strange things that have happened over the years.

My inspiration for this house actually came from a house near where I grew up in Dublin. I lived in the Dublin Mountains. Up through the woods from my home, in Killakee, there is a house (it’s now a restaurant) called Killakee House. It is a really old place that has lots of history around it. Just up the road is the Hell Fire Club, an old ruin sitting right on the top of the hill where nothing will grow within a certain radius of the ruin and where there is always a smell of burning. *shudder* It is said the Devil himself appeared here and burned the place down. It’s really quite creepy. The Killakee House itself is said to be linked to the Hellfire Club and has its own creepiness. It’s said to be haunted by a big black cat with orange eyes. There are rooms in this building that are permanently freezing, and people have fled screaming on many occasions. They’ve done a couple of exorcisms here to try and ‘cleanse’ the place, but the ghosts don’t seem to want to leave. Wooooo!

Some of my scariest memories are of Halloweens spent doing ‘ghost walks’ around Hellfire. You can’t imagine it’s eeriness until you’ve walked around the freaky ruins in the pitch dark with a low lying mist swirling around you on All Hallows Eve. Ooohh I’ve got the shivers even thinking about it.

Manga Mondays (70): Sand Chronicles vol. 9 - Hinaki Asihara

Current Giveaway on Alison Can Read 

GIVEAWAY: 30th Birthday $30 Amazon Gift Card

Sand Chronicles vol. 9 - Hinaki Asihara

Summary

Twelve-year-old Ann and her divorced mother move from big city Tokyo to her mother's rural hometown. How will Ann survive her exile from civilization? Then, when her mother commits suicide, Ann has to grow up fast. As the years pass, Ann learns to trust and depend on her new friends--Daigo and aristocratic siblings Fuji and Shika. But when Ann moves back to Tokyo to be with her father, will she be able to maintain a long-distance relationship with Daigo? And do Fuji and Shika harbor romantic feelings of their own that might rip their childhood friendships apart...?

What were our parents like at our age? We'll never really know... But now you can get a glimpse into the teenage years of the mothers of Ann, Daigo, Fuji and Shika. How was their destiny shaped? Plus, Ann's little sister visits Shika--and Ann's ex-fiancé!--in New York City. (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

The first of two bonus volumes, Volume 9 presents two stories. The first shows Ann, Daigo, Fuji and Shika's mothers when they were young. Miwako (Ann's mother) is frightfully beautiful. She is also as nice as can be. She gives and gives but never takes. Naturally, her kindness and beauty invokes nothing but suspicion and jealousy amongst her peers. Hiroko (Daigo's mother) is one of the few who recognizes Miwa's goodness as well as her fragility. Hiroko cares for Miwa and also fears for her. Miwa wants nothing more than to escape the small town gossips. She thinks that a big city like Tokyo will solve her problems. Miwa leaves Shimane for Tokyo while Hiroko remains. Hiroko is plain both in looks and aspirations. She's happy to remain in Shimane, get married, and have babies. Soon after Miwa leaves, Shizuyo (Fuji's mother appears). She's a whirlwind. Beautiful, bold, arrogant, opinionated. Nothing misses her eye. Yet Hiroko likes her, admires her. It seems like Shizuyo knows exactly the trap she's walking into and is happy to do it anyway.

I enjoyed reading about the characters' mothers. I can see where Ann and Daigo get many parts of their personalities from. Fuji and Shika are less like their mother, but her hardness and boldness had a great impact on their childhoods.

The final story features Chi, Ann's little sister. When she's about 9, she goes to New York City by herself to visit Shika (who moved there from Canada). Chi is left alone in Shika's apartment while Shika goes to work, with strict instructions not to leave. Hardly an hour later, Chi takes off from the apartment (a misunderstanding more than pure disobedience). She gets lost and the only place in English she can remember is the company where Sakura, Ann's ex-fiance works. A taxi cab driver drops her off. Our old friend Sakura is finally getting what's coming to him. He was just placed on leave so he can learn to play well with others. He also has a horrible cold. Chi is the last person he wants to see. Blissfully unaware of Sakura's annoyance, Chi convinces him to take her to his apartment until Shika can pick her up. Then Chi and Shika drag him along sightseeing the next few days. Sakura never changes. Still sullen and hating everybody, but Chi and Shika's exuberance opened up a tiny window in his mind that might make him willing to let his guard down.

It was fun to see more of Chi. She's such a happy little girl. So different from Ann. I wonder if Ann was like that before her mother died. I also loved seeing Shika. She is confident and self-sufficient away from Japan. She blossomed.

This was a fun volume. The stories certainly aren't necessary to the main plot, but it's a joy revisiting favorite characters.

In My Mailbox (51)

Current Giveaway on Alison Can Read 

GIVEAWAY: 30th Birthday $30 Amazon Gift Card

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

I'm Alison (on the off chance you couldn't guess that from the name of my blog). I review Young Adult novels with a few Middle Grade books and a weekly manga feature.

Library Stash

The Season by Sarah MacLean

*The awesome Sacramento library system loans Nooks!!! I have one checked out for 3 weeks. It comes pre-loaded with about 50 books on it.

Here are the two that I plan to read:

The Greater Journey by David McCullough

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

Feature & Follow Friday #65

Current Giveaway on Alison Can Read 

GIVEAWAY: 30th Birthday $30 Amazon Gift Card

Welcome to Feature & Follow Friday (err Thursday) on Parajunkee.com

If you are new to the #FF fun, Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. Feature & Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

*Thanks so much to Rachel for allowing me to be part of the Follow Friday fun. Parajunkee is one of the best blogs out there and FF is a highlight of the blogging community. The FF has been one of my favorite parts of my week for over a year and I'm so excited to help my fellow book bloggers get to know each other better.

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you! Now to make this #FF interesting we do a FEATURE blogger.

If you are interested in becoming a Feature click on the link here for Follow Friday Feature or go to Parajunkee and click the drop down link above FEATURES > Feature & Follow Friday and get on the waiting list!

It is also required, that if you participate you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) and the two Feature blogs.

Our Feature - Starcrossed

I started blogging years ago, but just for personal use. My days as a book blogger started just last month. I've always been a huge reader (and writer). I started getting into book blogs mainly because of all the giveaways. Then I started thinking about all the books I read. I read them, then put them back on the shelf. If the book effected me strongly, all I could do was tell a couple friends or coworkers about it and recommend it to them. But it seemed like such a waste for the books. I felt like...if a book was THAT good, then why not share with as many people as possible and help it get a following?

Q. What book that hasn't been turned into a movie (yet) would you most like to see make it to the big screen, and who would you like cast as your favorite character?

Finally a question that I can't use either Twilight or Harry Potter as answers!

Part of me doesn't want to see any of my favorite books made into movies. Because with rare exceptions, the movie screws up the essence of the book. But there is always something enticing about seeing something you live portrayed visually.

Books I'd love to see made in movies:

If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Plus Where She Went): Don't know who I'd cast. Originally, this book was tied to Catherine Hardwick, the director of the first book. It's what initially led me to read the book.

Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith: I'd love to see the Vampire Empire series made into films. They're dark and romantic. Could be an incredible movie. Or a really bad one.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead: I think this would make as good a TV show as it would a movie.

If I think of more, I'll edit this post and add them.




Now for the Follow Fun!

<center><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/search/label/FF" target="_blank" ><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4710921228_e3140444bf_o.png" /></a></center>

RULES To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - We Fancy Books & The Little Book Blog
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Follow Friday! Follow it up with your twitter address if you want to get that one out!

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