Updates and New Contact Information

Hello readers!

I just wanted to let you know what has been going on here over the last week with A Girl That reads.

1. We have a new contact e-mail! You can now reach us as AGirlThatReads@yahoo.com, and all outgoing e-mails from us will be from that same address.
2. Due to severe weather, I was not able to make it to the post office over the last week. The winner of the Open Me by Sunshine O'Donnell giveaway will be receiving their prize soon as it has finally been mailed out! She has received an e-maill about this.
3. This past Saturday's In My Mailbox post had to be delayed. I'm going to just save it for this coming weekend since it is now Wednesday already!
4. Our Twitter page has yet to receive a matching overhaul, look for that in the next week, as well as replies to any tweets y'all have sent @ replying to A Girl That Reads.
5. The next book review should be up no later than Sunday, May 8th. But, expect it much earlier than that.

And, most important of all, hello and welcome to all of the new followers A Girl That Reads has gained over the last few weeks. You guys are awesome, thank you very much for following and reading this little blog here. It's much appreciated!

Happy reading!

REVIEW: November Blues by Sharon M. Draper

November Blues (Book #2 in Jericho Series) by Sharon M. Draper

ISBN: 978-1-4169-0699-5

Published: October 23rd, 2007

JERICHO     Josh Prescott's death in a freak hazing accident left his cousin Jericho consumed with guilt, unable to enjoy the things that gave him pleasure when Josh was alive, even playing his beloved trumpet. Jericho turns to football, where the pain is physical and numbing.

NOVEMBER     For Josh's girlfriend, November, the loss is even more devastating, especially when she learns that Josh left something behind that will change her life forever. How will she deal with the trauma and tragedy? How will she deal with the demands of Josh's parents as well as her own?
     November needs Jericho's support as she deals with her shattered dreams for the furture and faces the greatest challenge of her life. But Jericho faces his own challenges -- on the football field and in his own love life. Will his torment prevent him from being there for November when she needs him most?

-- Back Cover

Now, I'm going to start off with admitting that I have not read the first book, Jericho, in this series. Thus, some of what you may read below may be skewed by this fact.

In all honesty, I did not care for the book. I felt like it was too much of a quick read with little to no depth in the various storylines. That said, I did like the characters and felt that they had been developed and described very well.

I especially connected with Olivia, the overweight and under-appreciated girl that connects well with those that give her a chance. Though she is not a copy of me, there were aspects to her personality and her struggles that I have endured as well, and that made this book a bit more enjoyable for me.

My biggest issue with November Blues was, as I said above, it was a very quick read. The reason being for this was that the plots, and endings to those plots, were not discussed in great detail for the exception of November's sudden surprise and Jericho's big game. And those were well towards the end of the book.

I did, however, love the very end of the book. Not only was it simple and sweet, it was also closure-providing while making me excited for the next book, Just Another Hero, no matter how little I may have liked this one.

The winner of the Coretta Scott King Honor Award for promoting peace, non-violent social change, and brotherhood, November Blues is a book for young teens to read in that it does a good job of showing how certain situations should be handled rather than the ways they normally would be handled. It does still contain typical school bullying and prejudices, but I recommend it for that nonetheless.

Overall, I would rate it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Blog Updates and a WINNER!

Those of you that follow A Girl That Reads on Twitter may already have known this, but the rest will not; I had been have some coding issues with our previous layout in that it was lacking "Next" and "Previous" page links so that you could view older posts.

Though I adored that layout and it fit the blog so well, I could not figure out how to fix the issue nor could I find anyone that could fix it for me. Thus, you are now seeing the new layout.

I much preferred the old one, but, this will have to do.

The A Girl That Reads Twitter page will receive a matching overhaul sometime in the coming week.

Now, on to the good stuff! We have a winner for the Open Me by Sunshine O'Donnell giveaway that ended April 13th!

Congratulations to Kate from Nothing Too Fancy!

I've sent you an e-mail and will need a reply within 48 hours (2PM Eastern, Tuesday, April 19th) or will assume you have decided against receiving the prize.

As for the rest of you, you can expect a book review up on Tuesday.

In My Mailbox Saturday (1)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. I post mine on Saturdays.

BOUGHT:

Yea! Who wouldn't love to wake up to a big box on their porch with this in it?

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (Goodreads | Amazon)
(Originally, I wasn't interested in this book. That was, until I read Liz Tea's review.)

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris -- until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all... including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingles and hearts melt.

-Inside front cover

The Red Queen's Daughter (Goodreads | Amazon)

"If I am to be so grand, then I shall have little time to stand about and make loose conversation." It took all of my self-control to refrain from covering the necklace from Edmund's invasive eyes.

Before I could pull away, he seized my hand and pressed my palm to his lips. The sapphire on his own finger seemed to blind me with its light.

"Let go of my hand," I demanded.

Edmund Seymour spoke gallantly, but he did not loose his hold. "My dear cousin," he purred, "you are to be so grand as to have all the time in the world, for you will soon be one of the richest, as well as one of the most comely young women in all England. When that occurs, I hope you will waste your time with me alone. In fact, I intend to make that my vocation."

-Quoted from the book, found on back cover 

Three Witches by Paula Jolin (Goodreads | Amazon)
(I'm really not sure about this one, but, it was a good buy for a hardcover.)

Aliya is in love with him even though he's not Muslim,
Gillian needs the money he was supposed to get for her so she can get back to Trinidad,
and Simona wishes she hadn't drunkenly screamed at him that night.

Three very different girls, all haunted by the same boy.

But Trevor Saunders is dead and he's not coming back.

Unless these girls have their way.

-Inside front cover

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen (Goodreads | Amazon)

Halley and Scarlett have been best friends ever since they met. Halley has always been the quiet one, Scarlett braver and more outgoing. Halley has always turned to Scarlett when things got rough, and Scarlett has always known just what to do. It's the perfect setup. But everything changes at the beginning of their junior year. Scarlett's boyfriend is killed in a motorcycle accident; then Scarlett really needs Halley. Now Halley has to learn how to be strong for Scarlett. It won't be easy, but Halley knows that she can't let Scarlett down. Becase a true friend is a promise you keep forever.

-Back cover

Privilege by Kate Brian (Goodreads | Amazon)
(The first in a series.)

Ariana Osgood ruled exclusive Easton Academy -- until she was arrested for murdering Thomas Pearson. She's spent the past two years at the Brenda T. Trumbull Correctional Facility for Women plotting her escape and is determined to get a second chance at the glamorous life she left behind. And Ariana will do anything to get her way.

-Back cover

All About Vee by C. Leigh Purtill (Goodreads | Amazon)

Meet Veronica May -- Vee to her friends. Vee is a bubbly, gorgeous, eighteen-year-old theater actress from Chester, Arizona who put off college, her life, and her questions about her mother's death twelve years ago to care for her widowed father.

Then Daddy decides to remarry, and Veronica feels replaced. She decides then and there, it's time for Big Vee to shine! She escapes Chester and follows in the footsteps of her mother, an aspiring actress herself, to Hollywood, California!

But is LA ready for an extra large dose of Vee's can-do confidence? Can a big-boned girl like Veronica survive among the size zeros and (gulp) double zeroes?

-Back cover

Dramarama by E. Lockhart (Goodreads | Amazon)

Two theater-mad, self-invented, fabulositon Ohio teenagers. One boy, one girl. One gay, one straight. One black, one white. And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP.
It's a season of hormones, gold lamé, hissy fits, jazz hands, song and dance, true love, and unitards that will determine their future -- and test their friendship.

-Inside front cover

Leslie's Journal by Allan Stratton (2008 revised text edition) (Goodreads | Amazon)

(Think Freedom Writers. This is supposed to be a journal kept by a student who's teacher promises not to read them.)

Leslie can't seem to avoid trouble, whether it's at school or at home. Just as life seems at its lowest, Jason McCready, the exceedingly cool new guy at school, enters her life.

Now Leslie is the envy of all the girls. But Jason's appearance is deceiving -- he is determined to control every aspect of Leslie's life, and he begins terrorizing her in unimaginable ways.

When a substitute teacher reads the private English-class journal in which Leslie reveals Jason's abuse, Leslie is suddenly forced into hard choices and terrifying action to take back her life.

-Goodreads summary

 WON:

None

FOR REVIEW:

None

 

I'm Joining the A to Z Reading Challenge!

That's right! I'm joining Book Junky's A to Z Reading Challenge!

This is actually the third year for this challenge, but, my first for joining it and I'm very excited. Below is my A to Z list (many letters are missing as I don't know what I'll read for that letter yet).

A. -American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson (DONE. Review to come.)

B. - Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

C. - 

D. - Dramarama by E. Lockheart 

E. - Emma's Table by Philip Galanes (Read review HERE.)

F. -

G. -

H. - Heist Society by Ally Carter (DONE. Review to come.)

I. - If I Stay by Gayle Forman

J. -

K. - King's Daughter, The by Barbara Kyle

L. - Leslie's Journal by Allan Stratton

M. -

N. - November Blues by Sharon M. Draper (Read review HERE.)

O. - Open Me by Sunshine O'Donnell (Read review HERE.)

P. - Privilege by Kate Brian

Q. -

R. - Red Queen's Daughter, The by Jacqueline Kolosov

S. - Scandal of the Season, The by Sophie Gee

T. - Three Witches by Paula Jolin

U. -

V. -

W. - Wings by Aprilynne Pike

X. -

Y. -

Z. -

To get in on the action, all you have to do is get your A to Z list together and head on over to The Thoughts of a Book Junky to learn more!