Waiting on Wednesday – Week 17

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight upcoming reads which I would die to get my hands on (and then come back to life obviously–how else would I read it?).


A Book I can't wait for is...

Settling by Shelley Workinger
Book 2 in the Solid series
Goodreads


At the beginning of the summer, Clio Kaid was one of a hundred teens brought to a secret Army installation. But it was no ordinary camp and they weren’t ordinary kids…

Soon after learning they were the products of a secret genetic experiment, the teens began developing super-abilities ranging from bounding lightness to blocking heaviness; blinding brilliance and the ability to vanish. These same gifts made them targets of a psychopath in officer’s clothing, and they found themselves fighting for their lives.

Picking up where “Solid” left off, Clio and her friends realize that they aren’t ready to go home; they’re determined to stay on campus and continue their journey of self- discovery. But someone doesn’t feel the same way and will do anything to drive them away – even kill.

Friendships will be tested, abilities will evolve, and more secrets will come out as the teens race to stop the killer before he sets his sights on one of them…

I loved Solid so much!! I really can't wait until this one comes out– although I think I'll have to wait a while with me living all the way over here and books taking eons to arrive here. Still, can't wait! Read amazing reviews on this one, and I'm DESPERATE to find out how the story continues.


That's my WoW for this week! What are you "waiting on"? Leave a link/comment!

Interview with Shelley Workinger

Today, I'm thrilled that Shelley Workinger, the author of the YA book series Solid, has been amazing enough to stop by at Confessions of a Readaholic to answer some questions :) Her first book in the series, Solid is AWESOME (My Review here) and I can't wait to read the upcoming sequel, Settling which is due on July 4th, 2011. Without further ado, here's Shelley Workinger!

Random Questions:

What type of music do you like listening to?

All of it – even if I don’t like the style to start, I can often be won over by the lyrics.

What’s your favorite book of all time?

“The Book Thief” by Marcus Zusak – I can’t even fully express how much I love that book.

What’s a book you’ve read recently?

Right now I’m reading Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor?

I don’t like ice cream – I know, it’s blasphemous. I don’t like cake, either!

Favorite Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean (1^st one) (LOVE this movie too!)

Favorite TV Series: Survivor

Favorite Actor: Ian Somerhalder, and not just because he’s ridiculously good looking ☺

Dream Vacation Spot? Moscow

Serious Questions:

Did you always want to be a writer?

No, I never wanted to be a writer – I wanted to be a judge until I got to college and found out you had to practice law first; I wanted to do the ruling, but not the arguing ☺

Which character do you see yourself in? Where did you get the inspiration for your characters?

I spread my flaws fairly evenly across all of the characters so that nobody I knew would get offended. When you tell a story in the first person, people tend to attach the protagonist’s traits with the writers, but I’m not that much like Clio; I definitely did not have her confidence at that age.

What do you hope readers take from your book?

My initial motivation was to reach the early teen readers who are starting to get so overwhelmed by required reading that they risk losing a love for pleasure reading. I hope this grabs some of those reluctant readers and reminds them that so many books are just fun.

What can readers expect from the upcoming sequel, “Settling”?

“Settling” is a bit messier than “Solid.” As the characters really begin to settle into their lives after the shock of “Solid,” nothing is easy – especially when there’s a killer on campus who’s trying to drive them away.

Anything else you want to add?

Thank you so much for your interest in "Solid" and giving me the opportunity to speak with your blog followers; I know we all have dozens of books on our TBR lists and I am so appreciative for your consideration of mine!

Thank you so much to Shelley Workinger for taking time to answer these questions and I can't WAIT for Settling to come out. It seems as promising as Solid! Here's the Blurb!

At the beginning of the summer, Clio Kaid was one of a hundred teens brought to a secret Army installation. But it was no ordinary camp and they weren’t ordinary kids…  Soon after learning they were the products of a secret genetic experiment, the teens began developing super-abilities ranging from bounding lightness to blocking heaviness; blinding brilliance and the ability to vanish. These same gifts made them targets of a psychopath in officer’s clothing, and they found themselves fighting for their lives. Picking up where “Solid” left off, Clio and her friends realize that they aren’t ready to go home; they’re determined to stay on campus and continue their journey of self- discovery. But someone doesn’t feel the same way and will do anything to drive them away – even kill. Friendships will be tested, abilities will evolve, and more secrets will come out as the teens race to stop the killer before he sets his sights on one of them…

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Solid by Shelley Workinger

Teens who discover they were secretly genetically altered before birth are brought together at a classified site where they forge new friendships, find love, develop "super-abilities," and even unearth a conspiracy.

**This is a review based on an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy). The text might be different in the final print! and Note: May include spoilers.**

When I first read the blurb of this book, I thought it sounded kinda like the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson, with you know, the mention of "genetics". And then, I thought it also sounds like a book I recently (a few weeks ago actually) read, Hush Money by Susan Bischoff. With the super abilities and stuff, I was like, this book's definitely going to be about "Genetically altered humans who become superheroes and blah blah blah."


Not exactly.


Solid is such a unique and highly original story. It proved to be different from what I thought it would be, and brought on a whole new level of "paranormal sci-fi". There was also a really BIG twist to the story, and I was totally caught off guard; I didn't even suspect what was going to happen.
Characters in this story were amazingly thought out. Of course, you have the main girl, the cute guy who the main girl likes, the supportive best friend, the joker/jock aka "class clown", and then the mean girl. They all form an amazing friendship and use their abilities to find out the secret behind the genetic experiments. Let's take a look at the characters, shall we?:


Clio: The Main Character. She's funny and smart, and a really strong character. Love her! I also like all the media references/allusions she makes during the book (LOVE "For You I Will" by Teddy Gieger!), and I really do think she's fitting to be a main character. She also kind of reminds me of Remy from This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. I guess it's because both their mom's are authors and the dad's died. Just making a connection! Love all main girl characters, now that I think of it. All have really admirable qualities. Well, anyway, loved Clio's humorous comments during the book as well :).


Jack: The Cute Guy. When I was introduced to Jack in the book, I was like, No way, she's so not gonna fall for him at first! because in "typical" books, the girl always falls for the jock and THEN goes for the sweet, sensitive, smart guy. Really cliché right? well, anyway, that wasn't the case, and I'm glad that Clio and him end up together :)


Bliss: The Supportive Best Friend. OMG, this girl is adorrabbbllee! love her character, she is such a sweet best friend! She's always there for Clio, when it's guy trouble, or just normal stuff and she's just such an amazing supporting character. She kinda reminds me of Gabbe, the sweet southern belle/fallen angel in Fallen by Lauren Kate. And love her power! it's so amazing, and totally suits her.


Garret: The Jock/The Joker. I CANNOT imagine the book without Garret. I think without him, the book would fall apart, as he adds in the humor to it all with his hilarity and dance moves. He's unlike the typical jock, where he immediately goes for the hot blonde (aka Miranda), but instead takes on the sweet smart girl Bliss :D. His skill is also pretty amazing and GAH! Just LOVVVVEEE HIM. Cannot express how much I do. I think I'm kinda torn between Jack and Garret :P.


Miranda: The Mean Pretty Girl. Well, okay, she's mean at first, but forms the unlikely friendship with the rest of the gang above. She's really funny as well, and adds in some very good points. I wish that she was more developed though, as I can really remember what the other characters were like, I couldn't remember her as much. But still, love her snarkiness and attitude, just the perfect "mean" girl, with an amazing personality change.


I love how the book isn't focused so much on finding powers and the plot behind it all, but also includes funny moments, such as the Dance, and then a few romantic ones. But of course, the best part is the BIG twist, the one I keep mentioning. It's just so sudden, it's like a punch in your gut. You have no idea when it's coming. I have to say though, the ending was rushed a little, I felt like it could have been further spread out, but in the end, the plot's amazing and you can't really say a bad thing about it :D.
Solid was a quick read, yet it took me AGES to get going into putting it into a Review, as I didn't wanna give too much or too little away. Just a little insight into the characters and plot. This is definitely a read for those who want to take a break from Vampires, Angels and Werewolves. Just highly original, which you can't seem to find in YA books so much these days.


Overall, Solid is a fast-paced story that sci-fi fans, paranormal and YA readers who are sick of the norm and need something different (and fast!). Shelley Workinger has written a fantastic debut and I can't wait to get my hands on the upcoming book 2, Settling!

**Thank You to Shelley Workinger for sending me an ARC copy of Solid. I loved it and cannot wait to get my hands on the second book!**

Recommended for: 13+

Source: Sent for review from Shelley Workinger.

Amazon❘Goodreads

WWW Wednesdays - Week 8

"WWW Wednesdays" is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My Answers:


What are your currently reading?


I'm currently read Solid by Shelley Workinger (Amazon❘Goodreads). It's so good! Loving it and just got to the amazing climax :)

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Amazon❘Goodreads). It was so good and really deep! Review coming soon.

What do you think you'll read next?


I think I'd either read Shine by Lauren Myracle (Amazon❘Goodreads) or Somber Island by T. Lynne Tolles (Amazon❘Goodreads). They both sound really fantastic!

Well, those are my answers! Which book should I read next? What did you recently read? What are you reading now? Leave a link/comment!

Teaser Tuesdays - Week 8

"Teaser Tuesdays" is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's My Teaser:


Had she been waiting for me? I realized that I didn't even know if there was a curfew around her, but I couldn't be late if when there were still other kids outside.
She closed Slaughterhouse Five - in my opinion, one of the most painful books on any high school reading list, but for some reason all the agency people seemed to get into it - and greeted me with a smile.


~p. 37, Solid by Shelley Workinger (ARC)

WWW Wednesdays - Week 7

"WWW Wednesdays" is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Just answer the questions:


• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished reading What Can't Wait (eBook) by Ashley Hope Pérez. It was SO Good! Look out for a review soon!

What do you think you'll read next?

I'm going to read Solid by Shelley Workinger next. It was an ARC I've received and it sounds amazing!

What are you reading now?

I just started Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It sounds great and I need to finish it fast because it's due at the library tomorrow!

Those were my answers...what's yours? Leave a comment/link!