Waiting on Wednesday – Week 96

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight on upcoming reads which I'm DYING to get my hands on!
WOW. Okay, 4 more to go my lovely bookish friends! What will be number 100??

This week's WoW is:

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

June 10, 2014 ● Goodreads

I seriously can't wait for this! And the cover is absolutely GORGEOUS– it was released recently and I still can't get over it's dark and thrilling undertones that make one heck of a cover. I've been following Lindsay's blog when she was "just" (we are never "just") a blogger, and I love that this is happening for her! Love her blog and am sure to love her book as well :D

What are you waiting on?

Social Media: Tumblr

Memes. Tom Hiddleston. GIFs. Benedict Cumberbatch.
These are a few of my favourite things (on tumblr).

I'm absolutely obsessed with this. I probably started having a tumblr a couple of years ago, probably just a few months after I created this blog, but never really used it until last year. I'm addicted now and it's extremely frustrating. Originally, I created a tumblr so that I could post my reviews on it. Turns out, now my Confessions of a Readaholic tumblr is for book related posts, particularly with movie adaptions and author tumblr posts.

But now... I HAVE THREE TUMBLRS.

Yeah, thank goodness for easy re-blogging, because otherwise I would be exhausted, frustrated, crying on the floor or staring wildly into space. Or all of the above. Who knows.

Anyway, I just wanted to introduce the tumblr-side to my life, because it's completely different to what I am on this blog.

Rabiah Sees the World – http://rabiahseestheworld.tumblr.com

**Yes, that is a Benedict Cumberbatch GIF while I screenshot the page.**

This is my personal tumblr. I use this for anything that's hilarious, anything delicious, any movie or tv show that I love, and so on. This is the NON-bookish side of me. The bookish side is at...

Confessions of a Readaholic – http://iliveforreading.tumblr.com

On this one, while I originally wanted to post up my reviews and link it back to this blog, I went against that. Instead, now I reblog book-related posts, author's thoughts, memes of books, GIFs of movies that are based on books, funny book related thoughts and so on.

My Wishlist – http://thingsrabiahwants.tumblr.com

**Picture is misleading. There's a bottle of lotion or soap or something just a small scroll down...**

This is the final blog I own, where I can be that materialistic hoarder that I secretly am (well, in my imagination). Jewellery  Makeup, Soaps and Lotions, Books, etc. anything I want to own, goes down here.

And there you have it ladies and gents, the Tumblr world that I live in for some of the time during the day. I must say though, it's very addicting. Sad to say, it's sometimes the reason I don't get too many posts up on here. *hehe*

Anyway, do you have a tumblr? Let me know in the comments– I'll follow you!

Waiting on Wednesday – Week 95

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight on upcoming books that I'm DYING to get my hands on.
And the countdown continues! Only 5 more W0W posts until I hit the big 1-0-0!

This week's WoW is:

Frozen by Erin Bowman

**Contains spoilers from book 1, Taken**

The Heists were only the beginning.

Gray Weathersby escaped from the primitive town of Claysoot expecting to find answers, but what he discovered shook him to the core: A ruthless dictator with absolute power. An army of young soldiers blinded by lies. And a growing rebellion determined to fight back.

Now Gray has joined a team of rebels on a harsh, icy journey in search of allies who can help them set things right. But in a world built on lies, Gray must constantly question whether any ally—or enemy—is truly what they seem…

April 15, 2014 ● Goodreads

I loved Taken (read my review HERE), and I'm really looking forward to reading this one! I requested for a copy for review, so hopefully sometime early next year, I'll get the chance to read it before it comes out, but nonetheless I still hope to get a copy inevitably to read!

What are you waiting on?

Books for the IB

We're always going on and on and on about the books that we've been forced to read for school, so I thought it would be cool to do a post about the books that I've had to study for the IB, grade 11 and 12. For those who don't know, the IB (International Baccalaureate) is a school system, and I take Higher Level English Literature.

Books in Grade 11

Essays by George Orwell ● Goodreads
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie ● Goodreads
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ● Goodreads
Hamlet by William Shakespeare ● Goodreads

We also did some poems by Derek Walcott and John Donne. I must say, even though I might have resented them at first, I honestly LOVE the texts I did last year. They were amazing. I must say, my favorite would have to be Hamlet because I'm a higher level theatre student as well. I really got exposed to so many authors this year, particularly with a focus on the diversity of nationalities, and this really helped to understand contextual details as well, with the conflict in some of the countries represented, either within one or with others. Or, y'know, even just an uncle and a nephew that have it out for each other.

Books in Grade 12

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez ● Goodreads

Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen ● Goodreads

Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong ● Goodreads

The Awakening by Kate Chopin ● Goodreads

(Upcoming)

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison ● Goodreads
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut ● Goodreads
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy ● Goodreads

It's only been two-ish/three-ish months into school, and we've ALREADY covered 4 novels! Pretty impressive huh? But yeah, I LOVE the range of novels we get to study this year– it's two units, we finished reading and studying the novels for the Works in Translation unit (the top three books) and now we're onto the Art of the Novel, staring with The Awakening. We have three more examination texts to go though, so it seems like a lot of work.
Some of these I initially didn't like, and I still can't really get into Paradise of the Blind, but my English teacher is absolutely AMAZING with convincing us into liking these novels. It's crazy. I swear, even though I'll say that I hated some of these before reading, I will warm up to them inevitably.

These texts are really different from what we studied in grade 9 and 10 – The Great Gatsby, Educating Rita, Animal Farm, and Julius Caesar – but it's been an interesting two years so far, and I'm excited to delve into the upcoming books!

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Release Date: October 26, 2010
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website (Cohn) ● Website (Levithan)

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors ofNick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

I know that this book was published a while back, but I'd never gotten the chance to read it until NetGalley fortunately added it to request for review. Before reading this one, I've never read anything by Rachel Cohn or David Levithan– surprising, because these two names are HUGE within the world of YA. I'd seen the movie Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, yes, but I'd never really had the opportunity to delve into their highly-praised novels. It initially took me a long time to get into the book, because so many things came up, but I'm glad that I gradually got to reading this fabulous book.
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares was amazing. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and even more. From the intriguing premise to the eye-catching title, I was determined to get my hands on this one from the moment I'd heard about it. Reading it reminded me of so many of the romantic-comedy films I love (Serendipity, You've Got Mail) but set perfectly for teens to enjoy.

Dash and Lily seemed at complete opposites. It was cute that they were both interested in the same things, and I loved at how the authors suspend their meeting to the point where you're really anxious for them to finally meet. I loved the alternating point of views, because both characters were so different and this allowed a lasting impression of the both of them. I loved Lily's complete and utter random nature– she's a free spirit and capable of doing what she wants and when she wants. Dash is at the other end of the spectrum, but I still loved him, especially his snark and sarcasm. Both of them certainly made an interesting character couple!
Boomer was a prominent minor character, and so was Lily's brother and his partner. All three characters were hilarious, but I absolutely adored Boomer. He reminded me of an overgrown child forced into helping Dash– I'm telling you, it'll be laugh after laugh with this book. It has such a great cast of characters, with an array of personalities and quirks that you can't help but fall in love with all of them.

My favorite scene would have to be the baby catching scene. I know what you all are thinking: WHAT BABY CATCHING SCENE? Well you'll all just have to read and see. That scene made me laugh and snort so loudly my parents became curious as to what I was actually doing on my laptop. It was just such an amazing blend of the characters and the humor from this book and the authors, it just made this the icing on the cake.
The ending was absolutely great– I thought that the authors tied this up perfectly. I honestly hope that this becomes a movie, because with it's play on fate and the fascinating tasks and characters, it would for sure be amazing on the big screen.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares was a bag of laughs, heart-warming moments and captures the core of a teenage romance. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan are a very talented duo and I'm looking forward to my next whirlwind adventure with them, wherever it takes me.

If you like this, try...

• Paper Towns by John Green ● Goodreads
• Saving June by Hannah Harrington ● Goodreads
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews ● Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday – Week 94

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight on upcoming reads which I'm DYING to get my hands on.
Wow (pun intended)– only 6 more WoW posts until I hit 100! I know that it's going to have to be something special... but WHICH upcoming book could that possibly be?

This week's WoW is:

Tease by Amanda Maciel

Emma Putnam is dead, and it's all Sara Wharton's fault.

At least, that's what everyone seems to think. Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's shocking suicide. Now Sara is the one who's ostracized, already guilty according to her peers, the community, and the media.

During the summer before her senior year, in between meetings with lawyers and a court-recommended therapist, Sara is forced to reflect on the events that brought her to this moment—and ultimately consider her role in an undeniable tragedy. And she'll have to find a way to move forward, even when it feels like her own life is over.

In this powerful debut novel inspired by real-life events, Amanda Maciel weaves a narrative of high school life as complex and heartbreaking as it is familiar: a story of everyday jealousies and resentments, misunderstandings and desires. Tease is a thought-provoking must-read that will haunt readers long after the last page.

April 29, 2014 ● Goodreads

This one sounds incredibly powerful– something along the lines of Speak or Speechless. I'm sure I'm going to be moved with what's to come! I do believe this one is up on Edelweiss now, so I can't wait to download it and get to reading.

What are you waiting on?

Reboot by Amy Tintera

Reboot by Amy Tintera

Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Reboot, Book 1
Rated: YA 14+
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

This was such an amazing action-packed dystopian! I loved the sound of Reboot's premise, and it definitely did not disappoint. I thought the idea was original, especially since this was a dystopian, where it's becoming increasingly harder within this genre to have original material for the future to come. I liked that there were humans and Reboots, set in a disease-ridden world. Amy Tintera's world building was spot-on and engrossing, and I can certainly see this novel becoming a movie.
What really drew me in was the tag line on the cover of the book. It really piked my interest, so once I got the chance to read it, I knew I had to go for it. Luckily, it was just as thrilling and true to the genre as it suggests, because it was truly an epic ride reading this book.

Wren, or rather 178, was a cold character. A really well-built character, and hence the cold nature: as the blurb suggests, she's rebooted 178 minutes later after she was killed, and that makes her one of the farthest things from humanity. It was great to see her struggling with her human feelings while the Reboot persona of hers tries to gain back control. This happens especially when Callum comes around.
Callum was adorable– being a 22, he was so much like a human teenager, and that's what I loved. The dynamic contrast between the both of these characters just made this read so much more enjoyable. There were a ton of laughs, as well as a heart-stopping romance that grows under the harsh conditions of this new world that they live in.

There were many twists within the book, and I thought this added an extra "umph". I liked how they focused a lot on the growing relationship between Wren and Callum, because as the attraction grew, it was interesting to see Wren's internal conflict. As all dystopians, the authority at HARC are the bad guys in this book, and this just helped to further portray the dilemma which she faces, either to help Callum, or kill him.
However I felt that the parts after dragged on a little too long, and seemed to fall into the dystopian "cliché", which I'm always afraid of reading about when it comes to this genre. I'm not saying that I hated it, but I think it's just a little overdone as an aspect to a post-apocalyptic novel.

There's no doubt I'll be waiting for the sequel– Reboot was entertaining to the point where I was captivated by the high-speed action and the stomach-fluttering romance. Amy Tintera's debut is one not to skip out on: her writing captures the essence of a classic dystopian, whilst set in the backdrop of a unique world. I can't wait for Rebel!

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Sarah from HarperCollins for sending a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld ● Goodreads
• Matched by Ally Condie ● Goodreads
• Possession by Elana Johnson ● Goodreads

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

I'm on a Mini-Hiatus!

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note– I will be on a hiatus for today and the whole weekend because I'll be in Desaru, Malaysia for my theatre class :D So nope, sorry, no posts (and no internet! uh-oh) but have a good weekend and I'll see you all when I get back.

Best,
Rabiah

Waiting on Wednesday – Week 93

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight on upcoming reads which I'm DYING to get my hands on!

This week's WoW is:

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.

What happened?
Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission:
Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
Take the Lion's courage.
Then and only then—Dorothy must die!

April 1, 2014 ● Goodreads

I love the sounding of this retake on the Wizard of Oz! Kind of reminds me of The Looking Glass Wars in that sense :P Hopefully this one will be up on Edelweiss, so I can get to it soon– it sounds amazing!

What are you waiting on?

Find Me by Romily Bernard

Find Me by Romily Bernard

Release Date: September 24, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: Edelweiss
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

“Find Me.”

These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead.

Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target.

Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?

Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.

But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.

Because it just got personal.

This book was featured in a post where I discussed books that would make potentially excellent thrillers on the screen. I still stand by that completely– Find Me had me holding my breath. It was a great story, and I'm not a fan of scary movies, but I still loved this one. The premise was original, piecing together the mystery was fantastic, and the romance was really spot-on. While the antagonist was actually quite easy to guess, I was still flipping pages to the very end.
But first, before I get all into characters and everything, can we please just take the time to appreciate that cover? I love it! And the tagline? No wonder I thought this would make a great suspenseful movie before I even read it. When I first saw it, I didn't even see the girl behind the words, but then I guess I "found her" later.

Wicket and Griff were such amazing characters and I felt that there definitely was a good connection. Sometimes in YA couples don't work for me. The girl can be too whiny, or stubborn, or just jumps right into the action without considering the consequences. The guy can be too clingy, too much of a, well, bad-boy, or *sigh* even too conflicting between two girls. However, I felt that this worked! I loved the pairing, I felt there was the right amount of romance as well as the appropriate amount of arguing that really made this one an enjoyable read.
What I do want to focus on was the killer. As I've mentioned before, the killer was quite easy to guess, but was interesting to see how everything fit into place, piece by piece. And holy moly, the person was a complete psychopath once unleashed! The final pages were action-packed and very thrilling as Wicket and the unmasked killer come face to face.

While the end promises a sequel – which I can't WAIT to sink into – I felt like this one could have actually worked as a standalone. Nonetheless, I'm still happy that there will be more Wicket and Griff, and I'm excited to get back into this world of hacking and deadly chases.
Find Me was engrossing– Romily Bernard has written a hair-raising debut that will be sure to have readers awake late into the night. The writing style was captivating and had me gripped into this story of a cat-and-mouse chase, and the fatal consequences that comes with it. Definitely looking forward to more!

If you like this, try...

• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray ● Goodreads
• The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting ● Goodreads
• Dark Secrets 1: Legacy of Lies & Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler ● Goodreads

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪