Waiting On Wednesday (109)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. WOW spotlights forthcoming titles that we absolutely can't wait to read.

Out Of Sight Out Of Time by Ally Carter


Summary: The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home. 

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

Why I Want It: I love the Gallagher Girls!!! I've read them all up until this point! Can't wait until this one comes out! 

Pure Red by Danielle Joseph

Pure Red by Danielle Joseph

Release Date: September 8, 2011

Publisher: Flux

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 240

Summary: I, Cassia Bernard, do solemnly swear to find pure red—my passion—this summer. Dad's passion is art. When he's painting, no one can reach him, not even me. My mom's passion was the ocean. She said the ocean allows you to see whatever you want to see. That was one of the last things she ever said to me...
Sometimes what your heart desires isn't what it needs. Over the course of a hot Miami summer, sixteen-year-old Cassia discovers that sometimes it takes bullies and basketball, a best friend, and a gorgeous guy to help you understand what you actually need—and to help you see that, maybe, everything isn't so black and white.


My Thoughts: What happened to loving loving Danielle Joseph? I loved Shrinking Violet, I really enjoyed Indigo Blues but Pure Red was just okay for me.

We are introduced to Cassia who lost her mom as a child. She has lived with her dad. Her dad is a painter, and he's quite known, or at least in some parts. Cassia is trying to find her passion. She's good at a few things but never really feels like they can be her "thing."  Even though her dad is around a lot and in her life, I didn't feel like he was really there for her. I didn't like that because dang, the girl has already lost her mother, pay attention to her!

She decides to join the Y's basketball team during the summer with her best friend. It's fun enough, and distracts her from other things. She's quite good at it.  She also meets a boy named Graham aka cutebutt. Graham has an interest in her father's paintings, he became his mentor. Graham is over at her house quite a bit now, and Cassia spent the novel trying to get him to notice her.

Honestly, that is basically the plot. I felt like this book might be considered more middle grade than actual YA if that makes sense. It was really easy to read but I felt like it lacked the substance that the author's other two books had. It didn't have the wow factor for me. It was more of a cute read than a super fun read.

Even though we are supposed to believe Cassia has grown  a lot by the end of the book, I'm not sure how much she actually grew up.

I think Joseph is a talented young author but I just don't think this lived up to the hype I had built up in my mind. I was hoping I would love it like the other 2 novels.

Overall: It was just okay. I liked it enough to keep reading. I was hoping it would get better, to be greatness and by the end of the novel I was left wanting more, and to know more details.  Hopefully Joseph's next book brings me back to the WOW factor. This one was probably more of a 3.5 cupcake for me than a 3 cupcake book. I liked it enough to continue reading but wasn't blown away.

Cover: Like it a lot. Its very eye catching. Love how their heads are down next to each other. Very cute cover.

What I'd Give It:

Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Past Perfect by Leila Sales
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 320

Summary: All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.
Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present, and her new crush seeming all too off limits, all Chelsea knows is that she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it….
My Thoughts: So, I never got around to reading Sales debut novel Mostly Good Girls. I still need to do that. But when I got a copy of Past Perfect it sounded so good I had to begin reading.
We are introduced to the main character Chelsea. Chelsea has worked at Essex for as long as she can remember (since she was a kid). Her parents work there so she is used to being there all the time. She knows most of the people and she has most of the history memorized by now. Along with her best friend Fiona, they decide to spend their summer working at Essex. Chelsea really wanted to work at the mall but Fiona talked her into taking this job again. She figured it would be a quiet summer working with her best friend, eating ice cream, and enjoying time off from school.
There is a problem of course. On the first day of work, she runs into her ex-boyfriend Ezra. I love the name Ezra! She has spent the past few months trying to get over this boy. Its hard; she even has a file at home that she looks at all the time that chronicles her and Ezra's relationship together.
With the two workplaces at war against each other (the one across the street) Chelsea isn't in a very good position. She wants the summer to be peaceful! Of course, she also starts to like a new boy named Dan who works across the street. Talk about rivalry!
I'm not going to say much else about the plot. I really liked Chelsea. I liked being inside her head. Sales makes this book funny. Its hilarious at parts, and serious when its needs to be. I really liked Dan and I liked seeing him and Chelsea evolve while getting to know each other. I felt like I was really there with Chelsea, especially when she was trying to get over Ezra. We all know how hard heartbreak can be.

Part of me liked learning all the history facts, while another part of me wanted to focus more on Chelsea's problems.
Want to know what finds out with Chelsea? Does she give Dan a chance? Does she get back with Ezra instead? Does the rivalries between the two workplaces ever get solved?
Overall:  Past Perfect is what the title implies; perfect. It was funny, it was sad, it was emotional, it was pure sweetness just like an ice cream cone. Loved it!
Cover: I really like the cover. Like the covers, like the girl, like it all. The green rain coat fits. The way her tongue is hanging out to capture the rain drops is beautiful.

What I’d Give It:

Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

Wherever You Go by Heather Davis
Release Date: November 14, 2011
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Age Group: Young Adult 
Pages: 320




Summary: Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?
     As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?
     Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Gois is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

My Thoughts: The story starts out introducing us to the main characters. There is Holly who is very responsible. She had a boyfriend named Rob who died in a car accident. She was also in the car. Than we are introduced to Rob who has been lingering earth as a ghost. Than comes along Jason. Jason is Rob's best friend and likes Holly. We are also introduced to Holly's family; her mother, sister, and grandpa. Her grandpa has Alzheimer's and has come to live with them. He can also see Rob! 

Wherever You Go started out interesting enough. I enjoyed seeing Jason fawn over his feelings for Holly and watching Rob get emotional about this! He figures that's his girl and best friend, they shouldn't like each other! I also thought Holly was very mature about everything and the way she handled things. I also liked reading the conversations between Rob and Holly's grandpa. 

Throughout the novel I wanted to see Jason and Holly end up together but it just didn't feel right. Even their feelings toward one another, something was just off for me. 

By the middle of the book, I started to get bored and just wanted something to happen already. Jason was a very likable character but I never got the feeling of emotional attachment to him like I do to some boys in YA novels. The spark just wasn't there for me. The way everything tied together at the end was a nice fit. 

This book was a very interesting concept to ponder.

Overall: Wherever You Go is a unique novel but I just didn't like it as much as I hoped. When I first heard about this one I was thrilled, thinking it was going to be so outstanding and a bit of a love triangle (love those) but I was left feeling let down a little bit when I was finished. I'm not saying its a bad novel but it just wasn't fully great for me. 

Cover: The cover is alright. I don't really like it that much. But I'm also not a big fan of green so that could be why. 

What I'd Give It: 

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey
Release Date: September 20, 2011 
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 304




Summary: It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants—what she must do—is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her—and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought—even if it means breaking her heart all over again.

My Thoughts: We are introduced to Wren who is a high school student. She has two best friends she has neglected. She just has too much going on in her life to handle friends right now. She has been dating Danny and they make the perfect couple. She's really in love with him. But there was a car accident; the car crashed into a tree. One boy was paralyzed, one boy died. Danny is the boy who died in a car accident. Wren is a special girl. How special you ask? Special enough to raise him from the dead! He's back and he's living next door. More like squatting next door. Nobody knows he's there except for Wren.... at first..... Wren visits him every chance she gets, pretending like nothing has changed, like he hasn't changed. 

There is a new boy at school; Gabriel. He lives with his older sister. What can I say about Gabriel? I liked him a lot. I never really felt much connection to Danny, I just didn't feel the love for him but Gabriel I instantly clicked with. He was funny, sarcastic, and sweet. I guess its because we never got to know Danny when he was alive so he felt more like a zombie (kind of) and his feelings didn't run as deep. I'm sure he did love Wren when he was alive but in death, he just "needed" to be around her. 

Wren knows there is deep power inside her, she knows it isn't right she brought her boyfriend back from the dead, she knows it isn't right he's living in the house beside her, she knows the attraction to the new kid while her old boyfriend is still around isn't right, but she can't help it. She's drawn to Gabriel. He knows her secret. He knows her. He understands her. 

What happens to Wren and Danny? What happens to Wren and her power? Where does Gabriel fit in? Want to know what happens? Read the book to find out. 

Overall: I really really enjoyed Cold Kiss. It was a wonderful debut. It was a beautiful thrilling story. I couldn't stop reading once I started. I loved the characters, I loved the voice. I want to know why Gabriel can sense the things he does. Is there more to the story behind Wren's gift? I want to know more! I hope there is a sequel. 

Cover: The cover is somewhat plain but still interesting. I like the colors and of course the lips. 

What I'd Give It: