Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Release Date: January 8, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 320


Summary: A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!


My Thoughts: I expected to like this a bit more than I did. I still enjoyed it a lot but I thought this would end up being a 5 cupcake for me, but it just wasn't.

We are introduced to Allyson who goes to England with a traveling group to enjoy the sites, and experience culture, and something she hasn't really given the chance to explore before, she’s happy and content, but she never has as much fun as she hopes.

Until she meets Willem. Willem is so sweet, and he’s a bit of a charmer. But, even though Allyson connects with him, I really didn't. She spends one amazing day with him and then its all over, and she goes home.  During the year, she constantly thinks about him, and that one amazing day. She doesn't even know his last name. So she decides she’s going to hunt him down, and things go from there.

Honestly, I wanted to love this more. The middle half felt like it dragged on, and I just thought she was being too depressed over a guy she spent one day with. It’s just one day!  I get it, I do. She gave a big piece of herself to him that day but if he was stupid enough to leave then that is his fault.  She was just too special to have to deal with that.

Just One Day was an interesting start to a series. I heard this is supposed to be another one. And of course this ends right on the spot I wanted to know what happened next.

I felt like this book was pretty neat, but I wanted a little more out of it, and some parts of it probably could have been taken out, and I would have been fine with that.

I did like Allyson as a person though, and a few of her friends. The characters were interesting enough to keep me reading, and want to finish this one.

Overall: Really enjoyed it, but had hoped to enjoy it a little more. Maybe I’ll like Forman’s next book a little more. I can’t wait to see what everyone else thinks of this one.

Cover: Like it. It makes you feel like you're really sitting there with her. Love the watch!

What I’d Give It:

Return To Me by Justina Chen Headly

Return To Me by Justina Chen Headly
Release Date: January 5, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352


Summary: Three months before Rebecca Muir is set to begin college, her father reveals a secret that tears the family apart: he is leaving them.

In an instant, Rebecca’s life crumbles—she has to rely on her mother now, when her whole life she’s been her father’s girl; she’s not sure she can trust her high school boyfriend; and her carefully planned-out life suddenly feels all wrong.

Reb’s journey takes her across the country and back, and is for anyone who has experienced uncertainty or betrayal. This book will inspire readers to overcome life’s challenges and come out triumphant on the other side.

My Thoughts: Well, I really did like this book, I did, but I just didn’t love it like I wanted too. I really enjoyed it, but love is too strong of a word for me to use on this one. I guess I found it to be a bit drawn out in some areas, and I just wanted the plot to move a little faster.

We are introduced to Rebecca aka Reb or Rebel who lives with her mom, dad, and little brother. She also has a boyfriend named Jackson. Well, her family moves with her to college town (or at least close) and everything goes haywire. She finds out her dad isn’t who she thought he was at all. So, this sets in motion the beginning of the end to her relationship with her boyfriend. It complicates her life, and makes her question everything she has ever known. She’s always been a daddy’s girl, now what? With half of her identity taken away, who is Rebel now?

She’s scared, lost, and confused. She doesn’t know much of anything at this point.

She has to learn how to cope with things and keep her family together. But while her dad is gone, she meets her grandparents who she hasn’t seen in years. This begins the healing of her family and the moving on and forgiving of her dad. He’s still her dad no matter what. He has made mistakes, but not because he doesn’t love Rebel and her brother. He’s just human, thats all.

I loved that they went to Hawaii and the journey they embark on. I also loved where the novel ended up and how things progressed and Rebel’s choices on college. I’m glad she gets to expand her dreams and find out who she really is.

Overall: Liked it! This might even be a 3.5 for me, but I felt that I liked it more than a 3 cupcake book. I did like the plot, and the characters, and the way things ended up but there for a while in the middle, I felt myself getting kind of distracted and wanting to move on to another one. Don’t give up! Its worth it to finish this one to the end.

Cover: Like it. Like the coloring and the way she is just sitting there.

What I'd Give It:

Crash by Lisa McMann

Crash by Lisa McMann
Release Date: January 8, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 256

Summary: If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

My Thoughts: Okay, okay yes there were some interesting things about this novel but I just didn’t fall in love with it.

We are introduced to Jules who lives with her family. Her mother, father, older brother and younger sister. Her dad has massive mood swings, one day he’s happy, the next he’s sad. And he is a big time hoarder. They also run a family business, a pizza place.  Now, now this part was awesome. I seriously loved reading about their pizza deliveries and how their business was run.

She has also been in love with the same boy since she was a kid. Sawyer. It was apparent that those feelings had the possibility to be mutual but at first I wasn't so sure. At time’s it almost felt stalkerish I guess.  Jules and Sawyer’s families are enemies so they aren't even really allowed to talk anymore.

A lot of family history, even though she didn't know much of it at first.

Jules is also seeing visions. She keeps seeing an explosion and then body bags. She sees it on billboards, the tv, everywhere you could imagine. That part confused me a little bit, the way she could rewind it. I don’t know, didn't like that I guess.

But the kicker, her precious Sawyer is in one of the body bags. She knows she must stop whatever is about to happen. I liked Sawyer I did. But at times I wanted him to stick up for himself with his parents. I wanted him to be a man. HAHA.

So, she goes on her quest to do something, to change things. And I’ll stop there. I don’t know, I just didn't like this one as much as I hoped I would. And its the start of a series, so I’ll end up reading the next ones to find out what happens. It probably could have been a stand alone, but the ending. Oh the ending, just opens it right back up for the next in the series.

Overall: It was just ok for me. I did really like the pizza aspect, the family aspect, but I didn't really connect to the story or characters like I had hoped I would. I can see where some will love this one and that is good, but it just wasn't the perfect story for me I guess and that is ok. I know I can’t love every single novel I read!

Cover: Its cool. The eye is very appealing!

What I'd Give It:

It's Time, Don't Ya Know?

It's time to start the 2013 Debut Challenge! I love this!

Here is my initial post where I will be keeping track of things! I will list them as I read them.    LIST HERE

Don't forget to stop by Tara's blog to join and link up your reviews for the prize pack every month! Direct Link For January HERE

I will also be adding them by month to this post and crossing them out as I read them, so I know whats left to read, etc. 

Debuts for January 2013
-If I've crossed it out, I've read it.  To see my full list: HERE

January 01
33 Minutes by Todd Hasak-Lowy
Splintered by A.G. Howard

January 02
Altered by Jennifer Rush
Prophecy by Ellen Oh

January 03

Playing Nice by Rebekah Crane

January 07
Brianna on the Brink by Nicole McInnes

January 08
Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum
Broken by A.E. Rought
The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan

January 10
The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell

January 15

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

January 22
Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt
Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed

January 24
Slated (US debut) by Teri Terry

January 29
Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook
The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
A Shimmer of Angels by Lisa M. Busso

January 31
Hooked by Liz Fichera

Debuts for February 2013-

February 01
Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) by Laurie Boyle Crompton
Lawless by Jeffrey Salane

February 05
Better Nate than Never by Tim Federle
City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
Me, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter
Pantomime by Laura Lam
The Reece Malcom List by Amy Spalding

February 07
The Ruining by Anna Collomore

February 12
An Infidel in Paradise by Susan Laidlaw
Pivot Point by Kasie West

February 21
The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand by Gregory Galloway
The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist
The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door by Karen Finneyfrock

February 26
Dualed by Elsie Chapman

March 01
Being Henry David by Cal Armistead
Drift by Michael Dean
The Freaks by Kieran Larwood
Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews
Bruised by Sarah Skilton
Gone Fishing A Novel by Tamera Will Wissinger

March 04
The Watcher by Lisa Voisin

March 05
The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey
Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos
The Holders by Julianna Scott
The Collector by Victoria Scott
The Murmurings by Carly Anne West

March 08
The Culling by Steven dos Santos

March 12
Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
Escape Theory by Margaux Froley
Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson
Starstruck by Rachel Shukert
Poison by Bridget Zinn

March 19
Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

March 21
Fraction of Stone by Kelley Lynn
OCD, The Dude, and Me by Lauren Roedy Vaughn

March 23
The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar

March 26
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

March 28
Linked by Imogen Howson

March ??
Snark and Circumstance by Stephanie Wardrop
Mortality by Kellie Sheridan

April 01

Blood Hex by Erin Butler
Genie Wishes by Elisabeth Dahl
That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard
Flight by Lindsay Leggett
Hammer of Witches by Shana Mlawski
My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

April 02

The Key & the Flame by Claire M. Caterer
Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland
Beautiful Decay by Sylvia Lewis

April 04

The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale (UK Release)
Eden by Helen Douglas

April 09

The Flame In The Mist by Kit Grindstaff
Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin by Liesl Shurtlif

April 16

Taken by Erin Bowman

April 18

The Symptoms of My Insanity by Mindy Raf

April 23

Pretty Dark Nothing by Heather Reid

April 30

Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce
The Ward by Jordana Frankel

May 01

The Last Academy by Anne Applegate
The Path of Names by Ari Goelman
Game. Set. Match. by Jennifer Iacopelli

May 02
ACID by Emma Pass

May 07

Bird by Crystal Chan
How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield
Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland
The End Games by T. Michael Martin
Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan
The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller
The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher
Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon
Reboot by Amy Tintera
Coda by Ema Trevayne

May 08

15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins
Riptide by Lindsey Scheibe

May 14

The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green
The Color of Rain by Cori McCarthy
Parallel by Lauren Miller
The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

May 21

Artemis Dreamt by Crystal Beran
The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke
Praefatio by Georgia McBride
Transparent by Natalie Whipple

May 28

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

May 29
My Sister’s Reaper by Dorothy Dreyer

June 04

Parched by Melanie Crowder
PODs by Michelle K. Pickett
Tides by Betsy Cornwell

June 08

Insomnia by J.R. Johansson

June 11

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn
Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Every Day After by Laura Golden
Rush by Eve Silver

June 13

The Hidden Summer by Gin Phillips

June 18

Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller
The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher

June 25

In the After by Demitria Lunetta
Ink by Amanda Sun

July 8

Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton

July 11

45 Pounds (More or Less) by K.A. BarsonAfter Iris by Natasha Farrant
The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna

July 23

OCD A Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu
Starglass by Phoebe North

July 25

Since You Asked by Maurene Goo

July 30

Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor

August 13

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

August 20

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (YA/Adult Crossover)
Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington

August 23

Canary by Rachele Alpine

August 27

Gated by Amy Christine Parker
Relic by Renee Collins
Taste Test by Kelly Fiore

September 01

A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchison
This is How I Find Her by Sara Polsky

September 03

Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair
When the World was Flat by Ingrid Jonach
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

September 10

Relativity by Cristin BisharaMagic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Thin Space by Jody Casella

September 17

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts
The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

September 24

Find Me by Romily Bernard
Through the Bomb’s Breath by Peggy Eddleman

*****All information listed here taken from Tara who is hosting the 2013 Debut Challenge via her permission!  Visit Her HERE!

Altered by Jennifer Rush

Altered by Jennifer Rush
Release Date: January 2, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 336

Summary: When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

My Thoughts: Boy, did I really enjoy this one! For hot guys living in my basement? Yes, please! We are introduced to Anna and her Dad who are a part of a project to monitor these four boys for changes. There are Cas, Sam, Nick, and Trev. Oh gosh, each boy had his own personality all right! And Anna had her preference, sexy Sam. Sam was a sweet guy but also very protective and closed off. Man, I really liked all four boys.

Anna and her Dad are informed the boys are being taken away, to be put in effect. Her dad doesn’t think they are ready and Anna is afraid to see them go. They end up escaping and Anna goes with them, per her dad’s request. Anna was a sweet character. Even though she was really open, I still wondered if there was more to her story than we knew at first. Something just wasn’t “right.”

Things are hectic. They have nobody they can really depend on, they have been in that basement for five years. Its even hard for them to remember what it was like before all that. None of them have very good memories, as they were wiped.

Anna and the boys are basically doing whatever they have to in order to survive. Things are complicated and they get even more complicated when they realize they can’t trust many people and the people they thought they could aren’t who they thought. A lot of questions and revelations throughout this novel.  And the ending, eeek. I flipped through the pages of this one so quickly and I ate it right up!

Altered is an interesting debut and I can’t wait to see where Rush takes us next!

Overall: Four hot guys? Yes Please!!! Awesome plot and very interesting? YES YES YES! Please read this one now!

Cover: Like it! Who wouldn’t like a shirtless guy, right?

What I'd Give It: