Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

I've said before how much I love quirkiness. I'm a fan of the crazy, the ironic, the bizarre. Please Ignore Vera Dietz masters all of that.

When I opened the book and got to the chapter narrated by Charlie, Vera Dietz' dead best friend, I knew I would love this book. And I did. Another great narrator was the town's pagoda, a fixture overlooking the town. It's an inanimate object, personified through years of town history. It's just the right kind of weird to make you fall in love.

The idea of betrayal by someone you love is heartwrenching enough. And then imagine that someone dying. Can you imagine the mixed emotions that would bring? And then can you imagine seeing him after he's dead, while you're delivering pizza and being a semi-normal teenager? One that relies too much on alcohol to make her numb? Poor Vera Dietz. Pretty hard to imagine. If it sounds hard to sympathize with her, though, you're wrong. Because she had a voice that was loud enough to break glass.

I don't even know how A.S. King's mind works, but however it ticks, it creates beautiful chaos on the page. There was just something entirely too charming about this novel and the town it's hosted in. It hurts and it makes you laugh and it makes you wince and it makes you feel. It just makes.

Sea by Heidi R Kling

Sea is set in Indonesia, where the main character does relief work. After Sienna's mother passed, she'd been too terrified to fly or surf in the ocean, something she used to love to do. But that all changes when she gets on a plane.

The prologue in this book = amazing. It probably had the best first page I've ever seen, actually. It grabs interest right out of your brain and keeps a good grip on it. Definitely a great way to start the book, and really showcased how much talent the author has.

On to the plot. I love the idea that one person can change you. Because it's true. People shape other people, and no matter how long that person is in your life, they will make an impact. Deni, a guy who Sienna meets in Indonesia, is one of those people. Actually, all the people with stories to tell in this book are those kind of people. Life-changing ones. And I absolutely loved that Sea shows that.

This was and wasn't a love story. While there's definitely romance, a lot of the book is about Sienna's life and how much it's changing. I love that, while there were great scenes with other characters, the main focus is absolutely Sienna and her journey. And it's a great journey. I've said before that I love when settings are present in a book, and this definitely brought Indonesia to life on the pages.

And what I love most about this book is probably the end. Because while Sea is a complete book, it isn't a closed one. It tells one part of Sienna's life, but instead of ending when you close the book, you know there's a lot more to her story. Even though she's fictional, she's one of those people that you meet and whose stories impact your life.

Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart

When Katherine's twin sister dies, she wants to follow her.

Throughout the book, Katherine is viewing her life as if it's going to be taken away very soon. Which it is, because Katherine is convinced she's going to kill herself.

It's interesting seeing a perspective on life from someone who doesn't want to live it. Katherine's words hurt. They made me want to reach through the pages and either smack or comfort her.

Part of the book takes place during the Philadelphia Centennial fair of 1876. I love books with settings that are palpable, and this was definitely one of those books. I could almost breathe in the carnival smells and hear the shouts of children and see the raging lights. It was the first world fair - an exhibition of all the world in one place. I think I fell in love with this setting just as much as I did the book. This is why I love historical fiction...to take a piece of something real and add in a perspective of someone fictional mixes an entirely new kind of reality.

Beth Kephart is a fantastic writer and she mastered historical fiction. Like the cover, its undertones were subtle, but they gave a very stark, stunning setting to the characters in this book. Kephart's definitely a writer I'll be visiting again.

Dear Writers

I was asked to participate in a tour for David Inside Out, which you can find out more about here. The main characters write to their favorite romance authors and, in form, participants were asked to write letters to THEIR favorite authors.

At first, I thought I'd write to Laurie Halse Anderson. She was the first author who came to mind because she's been such a huge influence on my life. Her writing is phenomenal and I'm in absolute awe of the talent she has. But I've written about her numerous times. I had an article published in Teen Ink, my first printed publication (which you can also read on the website here.) I wrote about her in my book, RAE. I've talked plenty about her and wrote raving reviews for almost all of her books; she's one of my long-time idols.

But then I was thinking: Laurie Halse Anderson has been my idol for a long time, but there are plenty of recent authors who have inspired me, too. So I sat (or tweeted) until I could think of who to write my letter to.

And the answer came pretty quickly, because I'd just finished Anna and the French Kiss for book club. And I was kind of blown away. Stephanie Perkins writes with such talent and wit and intelligence, it's hard not to admire her. So here's my (short, because the review I post later will be very rave-filled) letter:

Dear Stephanie Perkins,

You've made me live and breathe a place I have never been to. You've made me love people I've never met. You've made me laugh over dialogue I swear I could hear aloud. You've made me want to live inside a world I already live in.

All with your words.

Thank you.

Your fan,

Chelsea Swiggett

Laurie Halse Anderson and Stephanie Perkins are two authors with amazing talent, but they aren't the only ones. I want to thank all writers; those of you who make people feel by your words. From Stephen King to columnists to parents who create bedtime stories to their children. So.

Dear Writers,

Thank you.

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Thanks, also, to Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag for asking me to participate in this tour! She puts a lot of hard work into promoting books. You can find out more about the tour and enter to win some awesome prizes by heading here.

Back Home by Julia Keller

This story is told from Rachel's point of view, a daughter to an amputee soldier with a traumatic brain injury. After he comes back from Iraq, Rachel has to deal with the difference in her father as well as the rest of her family.

It's interesting hearing a soldier's story from a daughter's perspective. There are a lot of books and short stories told from soldiers in wars, or from the wives or husbands of those who are left behind by them. But I've never read a book from a daughter's perspective. And it was kind of heartbreaking.

I don't even think it was Rachel's grief that hit me so hard. It was her anger. She knew she shouldn't be mad at her dad, but she was. And she was guilty about it. She remembered the way he used to be - the dad who helped her build a fort outside and was so alive. And the man he is now isn't that same person to her. She always pictured that he would walk in the front door with a smile on his face, despite the fact that he was sitting in their living room in a wheelchair. And there's a scene where her father rolls into the kitchen and sees them baking as a family, minus him, and my heart dropped. Because it's a dark story. One that's hard to look at or read.

While it left an impact, it was more of a glimpse than a full-fledged breakdown of Rachel's life. There were a lot of very well-written scenes that hit me in the gut, but I would have liked to see more to the storyline and more of Rachel's growth as a character. There could have been a lot more depth to this book - not that there wasn't a lot of it already, but I think it had the potential to go even further. But as it was, it was a great, heart-hurting glimpse into a life affected by tragedy.

Author Review/Blog Tour: Jillian Larkin Reviews The Giver.

Jillian Larkin is the author of Vixen, which "is the first novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties..." Teenage flappers. I'm so there. You can find out more about the book and author, watch the beyond-amazing trailer (seriously one of the best I've ever seen), and become a flapper yourself by heading to theflappersbooks.com

Jillian Larkin is stopping here on her blog tour to take part in my Author Review feature, which you can find out more about here. Today, she's going to talk about The Giver, one of my own favorite books.

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Last October I was lucky enough to go on a pre-publication tour for my debut novel, Vixen. My favorite part of the experience was meeting with groups of eighth grade and teenage girls at their schools. With each group, I cited The Giver by Lois Lowry as my favorite young adult book of all time. Some kids happily confessed a shared love of all things Lois Lowry, but far too many had no idea what I was talking about.

I understand that The Giver came out in 1993, and is therefore older than young adults themselves these days. I was only five years old when it came out but luckily my older sister gave it to me to read for the first time when I was ten. This may not be obvious from my own writing, but I love science fiction and dystopian novels.

As a kid, I tore through 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and any other piece of dystopian or futuristic fiction I could get my hands on. Later came the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and Divergent by Veronica Roth—a fantastic book that comes out in May. But The Giver was the beginning of it all for me.

Twelve-year-old Jonas’ society has made the world safe and painless by instituting the “Sameness.” The Sameness moderates the weather, speech, and even human emotion. Jonas is given the occupation of Receiver: Holding all the memories from before the Sameness in case such wisdom is ever needed to help make governmental decisions. Jonas is surprised to learn from the former Receiver, whom he calls the Giver, that he is now allowed to lock doors and shut off the surveillance devices around him. Jonas is allowed to lie. As his world gapes wide open, Jonas must look around him and take in the ignorance and shallowness of those closest to him. He begins to see that while his world is stripped of all that makes it dangerous, it has also lost what makes it beautiful.

Within a mere 208 pages, Lois Lowry is able to create a complex and intriguing future. Jonas is a likable and relatable protagonist who reacts to his situation with joyful curiosity, but also heartbreaking anger and confusion. The relationship between Jonas and the Giver shows a lovely connection between a mentor and teacher. The visuals in the book are particularly significant to me. I used to hear books in my head as I read them—I wasn’t overly concerned with the look of things. But The Giver changed that. The way Jonas slips into the memories he receives and how they lead him to inspect the world around him had me creating elaborate pictures in my mind for the first time.

So those of you who haven’t read The Giver, I hope you feel ashamed. No, not really. Though if feeling ashamed would lead you to buy a copy of a book, then that might be okay. But really, read this book. You won’t regret it. And to anyone who’s as big a Giver-lover as I am: Read the book again. I can say from lots of experience that it only improves upon each new reading.

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And now I'm left wanting to reread The Giver...after Vixen, that is.

Check out Jillian Larkin's other tour dates in the upcoming days:

Jan. 19--http://www.examiner.com/young-adult-literature-in-atlanta/mechele-r-dillard

Jan. 20--http://randomactsofreading.wordpress.com/

Jan. 21--http://thebookbutterfly.com/

Jan. 22-- http://www.bookwormbooklovers.blogspot.com/

Jan. 23--http://thebookscout.blogspot.com/

Jan. 24--http://bloggers-heart-books.blogspot.com/

Jan. 25--http://daisychainbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Jan. 26-- http://moonlightbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Jan. 27 – http://www.teenreads.com/

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

Vladimir Tod is a vampire who's the center of this plot as well as the main character. He's being hunted by someone who has their own chapter sections in the book*, and there's mystery mixed up with the blood in this one.

There was an interesting setup to the world in this book. Vlad doesn't really know his powers; he doesn't really know anything about vampires, actually, besides the fact that his dad was one (while his mom is a human.) He was born the way he is, which is interestingly different and allows you to jump into the world while still being slowly introduced to it.

At times, I felt like the whole vampire aspect was pushed too hard. I mean, blood capsules were put inside his cookies during lunch. I can't decide if that's unique or just...bizarre. I feel like the style of the writing sparred with the explanatory measures Vlad goes to to ensure that the reader knows how vampire-y he is. Completely contradicting this, I like that the book isn't afraid to get dark. He dunks cookies in blood like a G. I loved some of these details, while thought others were a little too much.

But on the other hand, I really enjoyed several parts of the storyline. I can absolutely understand the cultlike likability factor. There's a fresh world created here, and people want to be a part of it. It has a strong main character, a world unique enough to be different and captivating, and it's grounded in reality enough to make it believable.

I'll be reading the sequels to determine just how much I like the series as a whole, but this first book definitely captured my curiosity. Overall, it was a pretty solid start and it was able to stand up by itself as it's own book, as well.

*I love when books host the villain to narrate a portion of the novel, like The Body Finder. Are there any other books that do this?? LOVE it.

Nothing by Janne Teller

Pierre Anthon is a boy in a plum tree who believes in nothing. He isn't the main character of this story, but he is the catalyst. He's the voice in your head that says nothing matters, but represented physically. He's a thirteen-year-old gloomy philosopher who is convinced the world is just a play. The kids in his class, determined to get him out of his plum tree and prove that life matters, start a pile of things that mean the most to them.

It starts with little, insignificant objects and transforms into something much, much darker.

I've seen Nothing compared to Lord of the Flies, but for a younger generation, and I agree. Expect, in my opinion, this book is much, much better. I found Lord of the Flies to be dry until the ending, but Nothing was full of bitterness and hurt and anger. Full of darkness and depth. A book that makes you think and question and wonder. It's the kind of book you have to stop reading and mark your page, just to think, before you open it back up again.

There was something in this book that hit me; it's not the kind of read that's easy to fly through, despite how short it is. It holds a lot more than words on its pages. But those words are beautiful and thoughtful in their impact. There's no doubt Janne Teller is a brilliant writer and person.

It's the kind of book that's fantastic to discuss, because there are so many interpretations and meanings hidden behind everything. But it's also a book that's good to read alone, to come to your own opinions and conclusions without being marred by others. So I won't say too much.

It's also hard to review a translated book, considering how different it can be from the original language - especially with a book as rich as this one. But I can definitely say that this book, without a doubt, will make you think. And it is, without a doubt, very beyond interesting.

Trance by Linda Gerber

I've always enjoyed Linda Gerber's Death By mysteries, so when I heard about Trance, I knew I had to read it. And I'm very happy to say it was incredibly fun and smart and unique.

The premise for this one is just so interesting: a girl and her sister, who see flashes of the future. Written numbers that appear to mean nothing. Creepy vacant stares that can make for some awkward moments. And car crashes. One from the past, and possibly one from the future.

Okay, I'm not one to show my inner girlygirlness. I don't squee over a lot (besides Taylor Kitsch.) But, okay, put a boy on a motorcycle and I'm in trouble. Especially when they're musicians, too. The main guy in Trance, Jake, is very squee-worthy. He's like reading a written representation of the perfect guy. We should probably work on getting him out of the pages, girls. And the side characters are fantastic...especially Ashlyn's coworker, a spunky pregnant woman with enough energy to fill an entire truckload of Red Bull.

A really interesting aspect is the numerology, which I haven't seen before. Linda Gerber even did this really fun online blog party, celebrating the launch of Trance, and read my "numbers," based on my name, and had me post my reaction. You can check it out here - very fun. The number idea, which relates back to Ashlyn's visions, is refreshingly different and adds a really fun element to the book. The numerology is also very rooted in culture, so the realism it plays on adds a certain suspense.

It's just an overall great book. I very much enjoyed it and very much appreciate Gerber's writing. She knows how to create characters and plots that make you sit on the edge of your seat.

I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman

I can't remember how I acquired this book, but I found it on my bookshelf one day when I was looking for a quick read. It's by Philip Pullman, the author of His Dark Materials, aka The Golden Compass, etc. I've never read his other books, but thought I'd try out his writing to see what everyone's raving about. I love reading popular authors' works that are less mainstream, so I can distance myself from a well-known plot and check out their writing and storytelling in another light.

It ended up really surprising me. It was very fast-paced and likable. The main character is a boy who can't remember ever being a boy; he only remembers being a rat. It all pieces together in the end to a tale a storyteller would absolutely love. I adored it, and adored finding out the ending.

It's a backwards fairy tale, a dark look at something charming. It reminds me of Grimm's tales, but written in a different way - one that's believable and stunning.

It's a children's story, done very very well. And likable for all ages. I'm definitely a fan.

Author Review - Amy Holder reviews The Karma Club by Jessica Brody

Today, author Amy Holder is participating in my feature Author Review. You can find out more about it, including archives and how to participate, by heading here.

Amy Holder is the writer of The Lipstick Laws, a book coming out in April 2011.

At Penford High School, Britney Taylor is queen bee. She dates whomever she likes, rules over her inner circle of friends like Genghis Khan, and can ruin anyone's life as easily as snapping her perfectly manicured fingers. Just ask the unfortunate few who have crossed her.

For April Bowers, Britney is also the answer to her prayers. With zero friends and nothing close to a boyfriend, April is so unpopular, kids don't know she exists. That is, until Britney notices her. One lunch spent at Britney's table, and April is basking in the glow of popularity.

But Britney's friendship comes with a price tag.

How much is April willing to pay?

You can find out more about The Lipstick Laws and Amy Holder by heading to her website.

Everything below this line are the words of Amy Holder.

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I believe in Karma. I'd like to think that people will be rewarded for good deeds in some form or another. Of course, I also hope that all the mean jerkwads out there will get a swift kick (or five) in the behind from Karma's jumbo steel-toe boot. It's fun to imagine good Karma finding its way back to us... and let's face it, sometimes it's even more entertaining to fantasize about those who've wronged us getting a taste of their own Karmic medicine. But there's a big difference between fantasizing and taking Karma into our own hands. That's precisely what makes Madison Kasparkova (the main character of The Karma Club) and her two best friends different from most of the happy-to-just-fantasize population. In this book, Maddy and her friends act out their Karma-filled fantasies by creating a Karma Club, established to speed up Karma's unavoidable kick and deliver it to the people who have hurt them the most. This leads to some very interesting and unpredictable results, hence the book's tagline: When you mess with Karma, Karma messes back...

The Karma Club by Jessica Brody is one of those books that feels like you're watching a movie while you're reading it. In fact, I was first drawn to reading Jessica's YA debut after watching its amazing movie production quality trailer. I mean, have you SEEN the trailer? If not, you have to check it out on Jessica's author site: www.jessicabrody.com. Once I got over my intense book trailer envy, I immediately bought The Karma Club, hoping it would live up to its awesome trailer. After reading it, I can confirm that it definitely lives up to the trailer...and there are even some surprises along the way that the trailer doesn't give away.

In all, The Karma Club is a light, entertaining YA must-read with a bit of a twist at the end that leaves the reader with an important message without being preachy. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves YA chick-lit, fun reads, light romances, and/or fantasizing about Karma's steel-toe tush kicks.

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

I'm late on discovering Courtney Summers' writing. I've heard everyone rave about it, but I hadn't yet picked up a book by her. I bought both of her books (only two were out at the time) when I was at a massive Borders in Louisville, and just recently cracked open Cracked Up to Be.

The premise for this one is very subtle and mysterious. It's the type of book you have to read to figure out what's going on. You can't be told. But, in lesser words, Parker is a character who witnessed something tragic and has been on suicide watch ever since. She drinks at school, which causes an obvious drop in her grades, and her social life is nonexistent.

Going into a book that has a lot of hype is dangerous; expectations are obviously very raised. But the hype is very warranted in this case. The writing was absolutely phenomenal. The characters were much realer than most of the people in my town, and the dialogue was pitch-perfect. It was a very real book in general.

I felt a lot for Parker. As a character in the book, you'd think she's a complete bitch. She's probably the kind of girl I'd hate, only because I can't get in her head. But as a reader, you can see she's a person. Just one who's hurting a hell of a lot and doesn't want to recognize it. Courtney Summers gets in her head and aces it.

I'll definitely be reading whatever else she publishes.

January 1st, 2011

Happy New Year! I have a lot I accomplished in 2010, and I have a lot more I want to accomplish in 2011.

I want to be less lazy and schedule posts, so I can keep up with my blog(s)* and college at the same time, instead of doing one or the other.

*And by blog(s) - plural form - I mean theglitterpox.com, which is the music site I just created with my best friend (for talking about awesome music and concerts) and which if you like music I'd love if you checked out.

I want to write every day with no exceptions.

I want to exercise every day with no exceptions.

I want a treadmill desk so I can do both of those at the same time.

I want a lot out of 2011, but I'm not expecting any of it. What I expect is just to live. I'm sure it'll be an awesome year and a sucky year, but I'm glad to be alive for it. So I'm going to try to travel and not worry about the petty things and go to concerts and write and get absolutely no sleep. And be happy and sad. That's what I expect.

Happy 2011, guys. Considering next year will be 2012, I suggest you live a little. ;)