Gone Too Far Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway


Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards

Release Date: January 6, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository ● B&N ● iTunes ● Kobo
Goodreads ● Website

Keeping secrets ruined her life. But the truth might just kill her.

Piper Woods can't wait for the purgatory of senior year to end. She skirts the fringes of high school like a pro until the morning she finds a notebook with mutilated photographs and a list of student sins. She's sure the book is too gruesome to be true, until pretty, popular Stella dies after a sex-tape goes viral. Everyone's sure it's suicide, but Piper remembers Stella's name from the book and begins to suspect something much worse.

Drowning in secrets she doesn't want to keep, Piper's fears are confirmed when she receives an anonymous text message daring her to make things right. All she needs to do is choose a name, the name of someone who deserves to be punished...

Oh my god: WHAT. A. THRILL. Holyyyyyy crap. I love books that have a twist that turns your insides, makes your heart stop and your eyes pop. Gone Too Far had this twist. Sure, it’s a little strange how things turned out, but holy moly, I did NOT expect it to be who it was. I guessed and I guessed, but totally didn’t see it coming. Yeesh. Normally I tend to expect the usual from “these” kind of books, but I was seriously surprised by this one– and really enjoyed it.

For one thing, I truly never got Piper. Sure, she’s the photographer, but I really understood her character or seemed to go more in dept into her emotions. Despite the fact that it was a first-person narration it seemed very third-person featuring a focalised narrative. Nonetheless, the only times when we actually get a glimpse of emotion is when she’s around Nick. Guys: I’m in love with the jock. I like how he goes against the stereotypes and for once, the girl actually gets with the popular guy, not the typical loner-esque, artsy one in the end. Defying clichés, woohoo!

As I mentioned before, I couldn’t really guess who it was in the end. I mean, I had my suspicions at the beginning, but then quickly ruled them out foolishly. There were two possibilities (not gonna mention who!), but even they got ruled out because of events in the book. While the reveal was quite a shock, the actual reasons behind it I didn’t understand. I was probably hoping for something more, I don’t know, scandalous? something that we completely missed out? Nonetheless, the twist is like a punch to the stomach, and I was honestly so shocked that I just kinda sat there for a while with my mouth wide open, wondering what the heck just happened.

Overall, while I had some problems with the end, Gone Too Far was a spine-tingling thriller that I couldn’t put down. Be prepared for chills, thrills, and feels (try to imagine that rhymes... so “fills”?), because Richard’s sophomore novel is action-packed and will have you flipping pages, desperate to find out what happens next.

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

EXCERPT

Chapter One

Late. So late. I slam the car door behind me and race across the parking lot. My hair is tangled in the strap of my messenger bag, my shoes are untied, and I have no idea how I’m going to get to my locker without getting caught. I have to try because I need those chemistry notes.

Technically I needed them last night when I’d actually had the time to study for my midterm, but I didn’t think it was a big deal. I know the materials and I figured I could do a little last-minute cramming during first period homeroom. It was a decent plan until my phone battery died, taking my morning alarm down with it. Now I’ll be lucky to catch the last ten minutes of first period.

I hop the curb and slow as I slide into the shadow of the ancient brick school. It’s probably not classy to barrel through the door like an escaped convict. Of course, it probably wasn’t classy flying into the parking lot doing Mach 2 either.

I check my barely charged phone for the time as I climb the first step. My foot slips on something halfway up the stairs. It’s like hitting a patch of ice. I lunge for the handrail and jerk myself upright, glaring down at the thing that tripped me –a dropped notebook.

Nothing special. It’s a plain, spiral-bound pad, the kind you can get at the drugstore for less than a buck. Pretty much worthless, excerpt I know it’s probably chock-full of notes. Notes someone will need during midterm week. 

Oh, fine.

I snatch the notebook off the steps and shove it into my bag. Lost and Found is going to have to wait though. It’s in the student store, which is on the opposite side of the school. 


▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪


NATALIE D. RICHARDS

At seven, Natalie D. Richards wrote about Barbara Frances Bizzlefishes (who wouldn't dare do the dishes.) Now she writes about awesome girls, broody boys, and all things dark and creepy. Natalie lives in Ohio (Go Bucks!) with her techno-wiz husband, three amazing kids, and a seventy pound dust-mop who swears he's the family dog. Her psychological thriller, Six Months Later, will be released in October 1, 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire. Until then, you'll probably find her writing her next book or trying to wade through the towers of dog-eared paperbacks that have taken over her bedroom.



▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Giveaway time!

Enter to win...

A finished copy of Gone Too Far, a copy of Six Months Later and some swag!

US only
Enter via the Rafflecopter below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪


Thank you so much to FFBC Blog Tours for having me along!

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪


Click on the button above or on the tour banner at the top of the post to follow the rest of the blog tour!

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Release Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rated: YA 14+
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Outside, Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair–the third most popular girl in school.

Inside, she’s a freak. A mix of dark thoughts and diabolical plots.

Spider stew. That’s what Anika is made of. But she keeps it under wraps–one step out of line and Beck Vilhauer, first most popular girl in school, will make her life a living hell.

So when former loner Logan McDonough shows up one September hotter, smarter, and more mysterious than ever, Anika knows she can’t get involved. It would be insane to throw away her social safety for a nerd. So what if that nerd is now a dreamboat, and his loner status is clearly the result of his troubled home life?

Logan. Who needs him when Jared Kline, the bad boy every girl dreams of, is asking her on dates?

Andrea Portes’s so-sad-it’s-funny high school setting will pull readers in, but the story’s dark undercurrent foreshadows a tragedy that lands like a punch to the gut. Anika’s ultimate change–from an inward-facing existence filled with petty concerns to an older, more thoughtful, more self-aware person– will utterly break your heart.

I think I’ve fallen into a reading pattern: hilarious books with tragic endings. I mean, first I read All the Bright Places, and now Anatomy of a Misfit? I think I’ve seriously lost all hope for happiness and joy. Nonetheless, Andrea Portes’s young adult debut is snarky, real, and utterly fascinating. While I did have *some* problems with the book, overall it was an entertaining read and I found myself gripped from start to end.

I knew I had to get my hands on this one from the moment I saw the title. Never mind the cutesy cover– that TITLE got my attention. We all at some point feel like we don’t fit in, or don’t belong with the people we surround ourselves with. Heck, I’ve had to deal with it for a majority of my life travelling from country to country. And reading a book from the point of view of a character who is a loner, geek, fill-in-another-word-for-someone-who-isn’t-popular, but hearing a story from the point of view from a popular girl who doesn’t feel comfortable being in that position of, well, popularity? DING! DING! DING! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

The fact that this character feels so out of place is what made this book so...intriguing. I had this image of a girl who was the complete OPPOSITE of who the main character is (blonde, probably wears more-than-the-usual clothes to school– you know the type), but it was two ideas that constantly clashed and now I’m completely muddled when it comes to conjuring up an image of Anika. BUT, I love this. Not being able to pin down a character to a certain category is a rare thing, especially in YA, and so finally we have a protagonist who’s a little different from the rest. The narrative voice in Anatomy of a Misfit is amazing. Not only is our main character Anika absolutely hilarious but Portes actually tackles quite heavy topics through her voice. Of course our protagonist isn’t going to be perfect and does have her share of flaws, but seriously: character development is a strong point in this book and it’s a relief to see Anika learn and grow throughout the story.

Speaking of heavy topics, several parts of the story contains quite controversial matters. There’s quite a lot of racism (not from the Anika’s character thankfully) and the mention of the n-word, as well as quite a lot of explicit language, as well as a character with a troubling background. See what I mean about heavy? On one hand, it’s quite overwhelming, but I’m really glad the author talked about some of these topics instead of focusing completely on the romance (which I’ll get to in a bit). I mean, larger context always helps to build the atmosphere and setting, and unlike most YA books where people who don’t live in that part of the world have no idea what the people are like get an idea of the society and beliefs of the area. From this we can totally see how different Anika is, and how she truly is a misfit not only at school but also with her family and amongst the people in her town.

Now, the romance. The back of the book seems to make this seem that this is only about boys, and the super hard choice of picking between Logan and Jared, but this book was so much more. I seriously wish that the blurb at the back of the book was less boy-heavy and more about Anika. YES, the shifting point of the book is when Anika starts to feel something for Logan, but I mean, there’s so much more to a girl than the guy she falls for, isn’t there? So much more happens, and while a lot of the main action and build-up does surround Anika’s relationship with boys, her character development seems to be a lot more of a central point than the romance. Neither of the boys are featured much throughout the book, or at least that’s what I felt when reading this one, and so I just thought that the blurb was just a tad bit inaccurate. That end though... just be prepared for tears.

Stunning and heart-pounding, Anatomy of a Misfit is a story of love and finding yourself, as well the pain and tragedy that isn’t clear on the surface and that we are ignorant to. Portes’s words cut and heal with every step of the way, creating both a blunt and beautiful work that will have you laughing first, then hiccuping tears the next. Definitely not one to miss.


▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Alice at HarperCollins 360 for sending a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

2014 Wrap Up

Happy New Year Readaholics! Here’s my wrap up for 2014, because BOY was it eventful :D

First off, I didn’t get to finish my challenge of 85 books (which was reduced from 150, I believe), and ended up reading 67 books in 2014. Not that great, but considering all that happened, I’m glad that I actually got to read.

This year was the year of BIG changes. Graduating high school, attending university in the US, finishing my first semester– so much has happened! It’s no wonder I didn’t read as many books. Even blogging unfortunately came to a halt for a while, but hopefully I’m going to be back on track and blogging more than ever, or at least blogging for most of the year.

Here are some of my favourite books from 2014:


The One by Kiera Cass (Goodreads ● My Review)
Feral by Holly Schindler (Goodreads ● My Review)
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (Goodreads ● My Review)
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman (Goodreads ● My Review)
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (Goodreads ● My Review)
More Than This by Patrick Ness (Goodreads ● My Review)
Pawn by Aimée Carter (Goodreads ● My Review)

There have obviously been several more fantastic books that I read last year but these are the ones that stood out for me. Looks like I enjoyed a good mix of genres!

Anyway, here’s to a great 2015, hope you all achieve whatever resolutions you’ve come up with :D

Best,
Rabiah

All the Bright Places Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Release Date: January 6, 2015
Publisher: Knopf
Rated: YA 14+
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
This is a heart-wrenching, unflinching story of love shared, life lived, and two teens who find one another while standing on the edge.

I was a little wary of getting into All the Bright Places because the blurb claimed it to be “The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor & Park.” I didn’t really want to set my standards too high because the story easily could have fallen into the familiar story arc of so many other YA contemporary novels: either boy or girl in trouble, meets the other, they save each other. We’ve all seen this a million times. However, what I didn’t expect was to fall head over heels in love with this book and have my heart crushed into a million pieces.

The story is told in the alternating perspectives of our two main characters: Finch and Violet. I will admit that while I was completely taken with Finch from the start, Violet took a little time to warm up to. After that though, WOW. I was so enamoured by both characters, that by the end it was so hard to let them go. Both have their own demons and it’s interesting to see how it plays out with their narratives, interactions and relationship. It definitely leaves a lasting mark by the end (no spoilers!), and the build-up is a rickety, heart-pounding climb that follows with the sharp whoosh! of the fall. I just wish though that there had been more of an explanation for Finch’s problem, because it comes up several times during the book and it seemed quite random but actually has a large significance in the novel. Maybe I missed it, but I just felt that there could have been more information given pertaining to his “condition.”

❝The rules of geocaching say ‘take something, leave something.’ The way I figure it,we stand to get something out of each place, so why not give something back? Also, it’s a way to prove we’ve been there, and a way to leave a part of us behind.❞
–p. 44, ARC*
*text is subject to change in the final version

I seriously love the road-trip-feel of the novel without the actual road trip. Both need to escape, but instead of the cliché idea of taking off on a road trip, they actually explore their surroundings but always come back home. I really enjoyed these parts of the book because it was where the romance started to grow as well as where most of the humour was. With the amount of family problems Finch has and how Violet has to cope with the loss of a sibling – and just in general all the sad parts of the book – you seriously need an ice-breaker now and then. Yeesh, this is not a fluffy book. AT ALL.

Be prepared to laugh, smile, and cry, because Jennifer Niven’s bittersweet novel has it all. All the Bright Places was a beautiful story that had me at a golden high and a heartbreaking low, truly the epitome of an emotional roller coaster. Seriously, go read this book right now. I dare you. Keep a box of tissues at hand though, because you are definitely going to need it.


▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Anna at Random House Children’s Books for sending me a copy for review and having me on the blog tour! ▪ ▪ ▪ 

If you like this, try...


▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪


JENNIFER NIVEN

JENNIFER NIVEN’s first book, The Ice Master, was named one of the top ten nonfiction books of the year by Entertainment Weekly. Her second book, Ada Blackjack, was a Book Sense Top Ten Pick. She splits her time between Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Website ● Twitter ● Goodreads







▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Giveaway time!

You can win...

A copy of All the Bright Places!

US only ● Must be 13+ to enter
This is a publisher-sponsored giveaway

Enter via the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway