Showing posts with label Faking Normal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faking Normal. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Top Ten Characters I Wish I Could Check in With!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This weeks topic is the top ten characters we would like to check in with after the books have finished. I also added some couples to the list that I wish I could see how they are doing now.
 
Revolution
Andi Alpers
from
 
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls, #1)
Cammie Morgan and Zach Goode
from
 
This Lullaby
Remy Starr and Dexter Jones
from
 
The Truth About Forever
Macy Queen and Wes Baker
from
 
The Beginning of Everything
Ezra Faulkner
from
 
Since You've Been Gone
Emily
from
 
Faking Normal
Alexi Littrell
from
 
Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy, #1)
Kami Glass and Jared Lynburn
from
 
Rites of Passage
Sam McKenna
from
 
Reality Boy
Gerald Faust
from
 
 
What characters would you want to be able to check in on now?
Tell me in the comments below!
 

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Up-and-Coming Young Adult Author Panel Recap and Giveaway


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Leah Cypess, A.C. Gaughen. Tiffany Schmidt, Victoria Schwab, Courtney C, Stevens



Displaying IMG_20140324_192131_620.jpgDisplaying IMG_20140324_191829_918.jpgThis Monday I was fortunate enough to attend an Up and Coming Young Adult Author Panel at the Brookline Booksmith.The five phenomenal authors they had come in were Victoria Schwab (The Archived, Courtney C. Stevens (Faking Normal), Tiffany Schmidt (Bright Before Sunrise), Leah Cypess (Death Sworn), and A.C. Gaughen (Scarlet). Victoria Schwab had become one of my favorite authors last year when I fell in love with her Archived Series and Courtney C. Stevens made her way onto my radar this past month when I read her debut novel Faking Normal and found it a beautiful and thought provoking read. I was so excited to meet them and I loved talking to the other authors so much too that I have decided to go try their books as well! 
Displaying IMG_20140324_191628_435.jpgThey started off the night letting people in the crowd shout out random numbers and the authors would flip to that page number and read an excerpt from their book to go the audience intrigued. I discovered something about authors during this time. They all have great reading voices. I loved hearing my favorite authors read sections from their books and also was very interested in getting a taste of what the other books were like. The authors then moved in to giving us an overview of their books and told us a little bit about themselves. When the authors were done giving their short blurbs a moderator took over guiding a couple discussions and then allowed the audience to raise their hands and ask questions. 
Displaying IMG_20140324_192034_594.jpgThe questions raised from such things as where do you get your ideas to who is your favorite superhero? My favorite question asked, which I had not heard before, was, which is more important the first or last line of book? The authors had serious debate about this. Some felt it was the first line because that is what people are going to be looking at in a bookstore if they are trying to decided whether or not to but the book. Others thought that it was the last line because that is the last thing a person remembers from the book. They said that a book could be a great read but have a bad ending and most people will immediately remember the bad ending over the quality of the whole book. I was stumped myself as I agreed with both statements. 
Displaying IMG_20140324_191959_942.jpgAfter the discussions were over it was time for book signings! I always get nervous when meeting authors because to me they are celebrity's but everytime I discover the same thing. Authors are just regular people! I go up there and I will have a conversation with them as if they were my best friend and it is awesome. I got to meet one on one with Victoria Schwab and Courtney C. Stevens when they signed my books and they were everything I hoped they would be and more! They were even so nice and gave me some extra signed book swag so I could host a giveaway for all of you guys (enter giveaway at the bottom of this post)!
Displaying IMG_20140324_220515_684.jpgDisplaying IMG_20140324_220634_160.jpgThe night was so much fun and insightful! It was definitely a success!
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Signed Books and Book Swag!



Giveaway Rules!
 
1. Giveaway is US only
2. Must be 13 years or older to enter
3. Winner must respond within 48 hours or I will choose another winner
4. I am not responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen items


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Review: Faking Normal

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Title: Faking Normal
Author: Courtney C. Stevens
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: February 25th 2014
Genre: Contemporary 
Pages: 321


Faking Normal follows the story of Alexi Littrell who refuses to tell anyone what happened to her over the summer. Alexi does her best to seem normal and copes by hiding in her closet and scratching the back of her neck. Then, Bodee Lennox comes to live with her family and she discovers a new friend who starts to help her realize that what happened to her is not her fault. Bodee starts to help Alexi heal herself and see that not everybody is going to take from you.
Contemporary novels used to be my favorite, but for some reason in the past year I have struggled to find many that speak to me the way one should. Faking Normal is the type of contemporary novel I have always loved. This is one of the books that you will pick up and by the time you put it down their will be a moment where you just sit and digest everything you have just read because I swear that this book will speak to you.
Faking Normal is one of those books that even if you cannot relate to the specific event in the book you can relate to the emotions. Everyone goes through some type of pain in their life where they bottle it up inside of themselves. In the book Alexi keeps her story to herself and pretends to act normal as a result she thinks there is something wrong with herself. This book made me feel for Alexi but it also made me feel for myself and in my opinion that is what makes an excellent contemporary read.
Courtney C. Stevens has one of those easy flowing writing voices. Her writing flowed from one page to the next and I never felt like there was a stall or dull point in the text. She wrote with a beautiful simplicity that was filled with a lot of emotion.Stevens was also fantastic at creating characters. Alexi and Bodee were perfect together and as individuals. Alexi is a character that you can really relate to and Bodee is the perfect remedy for a broken soul. I sure hope there is a Bodee out there for every girl.
When you combine the writing, characters, emotions, and message this becomes the perfect contemporary read. Courtney C. Stevens is a new YA author to look out for.
Faking Normal is the next book you should read.