The Eternity Cure: sequel to Book of Awesome

What? Oh... why yes! That IS an advanced copy of Julie Kagawa's The Eternity Cure on my iPad...

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet the oh-so-stellar, Laurie McLean, at the San Francisco Writer's Conference. Laurie is the ROCK STAR agent for Miss Julie Kagawa, who wrote the Iron Fey series, as well as (my favorite), her new vampire dystopian series, Blood of Eden. Blood of Eden made a smashing debut last year with the Immortal Rules, and, seriously guys? If you haven't read it yet... PUT IT ON THE TOP OF YOUR TO-READ LIST!!!! RIGHT! NOW!

Its amazing. 

Before I'd read the Immortal Rules, I thought I was done with vampires. Stoker, Rice, Meyer... I'd pretty much read 'em all, and I wasn't really interested in yet ANOTHER vampire book. 

Oh. How. Wrong. I. Was. 

I was completely sucked (hardy har!) into this world that Julie Kagawa created. Its basically a vampire dystopian. If any of you have read I Am Legend (not the movie, which is different than the book), or The Strand, it has a similar vibe, in which vampires are the next step in evolution and humans are raised like cattle. I could NOT put it down!! 

Anyway, after I gushed to Laurie about HOW MUCH I FREAKIN' LOVED THE IMMORTAL RULES, she told me she'd try to get me an advanced copy of the sequel. Like, no big deal, right?

This was me: 

[Closed captioning: EEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

There also may have been some serious finger crossing going on. And a bit of freaking out. And probably some embarrassing exclamations of joy. Just a few.

Anyway, now that I've got my handy dandy advanced reader copy of The Eternity Cure, I plan on settling in for a long day of uninterrupted reading! Are you totes jealous yet?

*sigh*

Its a hard knock life, ya know? 

San Francisco Writers Conference: Wisdom Noted

Wow. Its Thursday. And I STILL have not posted a SFWC update... I may or may not be a bit of a slacker. I blame the fact that my brain was fried and needed time to recoup. 

SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS, I LIE NOT!!! 

Talk about awesome-writer-advice-brain-overload... $@#*!! 

But now that I've been fed, watered and properly rested, I feel its time to make another virtual appearance. Here are a few things I learned this weekend at the writer's conference of awesome:

R.L. Stien? For being the writer of a notoriously goosebump-y scary series, he was surprisingly, well, UN scary! In fact, he originally wanted to write comedy. Who knew?

Mount Doom is in San Francisco... don't believe me? Try hiking up this every morning:

Forgive me if its unclear, but that's like a freakin' FOURTY FIVE DEGREE ANGLE! I suddenly have strong feelings of empathy for Frodo. 

Cable cars are a beautiful, beautiful invention. 

It IS possible to write 3-4 books PER YEAR (You go, Anne Perry! You adorable little British woman, you!) Pretty sure she's up to like 80 books now... and I feel I shall never live up to her awesome-ness.

Anne is the one with the crazy smile... Haha! I heart this pic!

Laurie McLean, Julie Kagawa's agent, is a FREAKIN' ROCK STAR (and I'm not just saying that because she promised a possible advanced copy of the Eternity Cure...hehe!) She really is awesome. 

Writers make the best friends (Holla LAURA, PERRY, and ASHLEY!!.. Missed you, LAUREN and TERRY!)

Three two-stall bathrooms are inadequate for a conference boasting 500-ish strong. Ew.

Laura Perkins, from the Andrea Brown agency, is also a ROCK STAR! I have big plans to do an entire post on her session "Crafting A Can't-Put-Me-Down First Chapter for a YA Novel." It was sublimely superb! Thank you, Lara!

And last but far from least... Reaffirmed: I LOVE BEING A WRITER!

Book Slump Breakout

In high school, I was a band nerd. 

[cue gasps of shock and awe]

Unlike the cheer and jock crowd, who I'm pretty sure had chests of gold handed to them (pirate booty style), us poor nerds had to salve to raise money for band tour every year. One of our more notorious and highly-anticipated fundraisers was called the "Rock-a-Thon." 

I kid you not. People would actually pledge money (REAL money!) for us to rock in a rocking chair for 24 hours. Straight. (The things desperate kids will do for money, I know...) 

I bring this up because my "2013 Books Read" numbers are currently quite low. Pretty sure I haven't even broken into double digits yet. Its sad. In an attempt to inflate my numbers, I was thinking of starting Julie's First Annual "Book-a-Thon." 

I mean, if people are willing to pay me to rock in a chair for 24 hours, certainly they'll pay me money to read books, right? 

...[insert pensive expression here]...

I think its worth a shot. 

Anyone willing to pledge money, please see the collection tin at the end of this post.

Okay, okay... so although the numbers are low, I admit, I have read a FEW books recently. One worth mentioning, is by author, Aurora Smith, who asked me to read and review her debut novel, My Stupid Girl. 

All seventeen-year-old David really wants is to fly under life's radar. In a typical cold winter day in Montana he does something extraordinary: rescues smart, funny, gorgeous good-girl Lucy Peterson from drowning in a freezing lake. As their friendship grows, David realizes that risking his life was the easy part. His friendship with a girl who is different from him in every imaginable way forces David to challenge himself and those around him. He must face the abuse of his past and the uncertainty of his future as he struggles to keep Lucy by his side.

When Aurora sent me this book, she described it as "adorkable." [Eeek! Love!] So of course, I was EXPECTING the totally rock-awesome witty dialogue and descriptions that ACTUALLY made me giggle out loud... (which totally doesn't happen very often, peeps. I'm a stone cold reader... grrr!) It was awesome!

What I was NOT expecting was the way in which Aurora was able to seamlessly tie in some seriously serious topics of discussion with all the lighthearted humor and whit! I've read YA books with some pretty heavy topics.... Wintergirls, by Laurie Hals Anderson and Drowning Instinct, by Ilsa J. Bick (both fabulous--ESPECIALLY Drowning Instinct, just in case you were wondering!). However, I can't say that I've read a good "adorkable," funny kinda novel that ties in such serious-ness with the humor. Most attempts end up coming across as insincere. 

Not so with My Stupid Girl!

Aurora balanced the humor and serious perfectly! I absolutely adored David's pack of miscreant friends (especially Isaiah)! At the same time, I found myself in serious contemplation about the kinds of trials and life changes David had to go through. Some of the topics explored included: adoption, death, forgiveness, teen pregnancy, and religion. I especially liked how, through the book, the characters started out judging each each other as one way based on their outward appearance. And how eventually, they realized the importance of seeing past the public mask to the person within. It reminded me of how very wrong we can be when we judge a book by the cover, so to speak!

Oh, and I totally want David to design a tattoo for me. Cause he's just that awesome. 

One thing I did not like, though,  ***SPOILER ALERT*** was that David almost seemed TOO understanding at the end. Miss Lil' Sweet Cheeks Lucy Pants comes to him with a doozey of a mistake that she made, and instead of having a bit o' heart ache over the matter, David (almost) immediately jumps back with ITSOKAYISTILLTOTALLYLOVEYOUSOMUCH!!! 

Which, considering the issue in question, seemed a bit quick to me. In my experience, boys usually stew over things a little longer than a half hour.

I also thought that some of the witty descriptions went on a little long. For the most part the dialogue and running whit inside David's head were nothing but hilarious! But in the first chapter especially, I thought some of the stuff was "one joke too much," and it dragged down the action a bit. 

Okay, and it was probably just me (and quite possibly cause I didn't bother actually reading the summary of the book BEFORE hand)... but I didn't know if David was a girl or guy for the whole first chapter! Haha ( : Perhaps I missed the "Hi, my name is David, and I'M A BOY" part, but just in case you miss it too? David is, in fact, a boy!

Overall, this was definitely a fun read! I would easily recommend this book for anyone looking for something quick and enjoyable! Its got "thinker" and "humor" all rolled up into one nice, neat package! You can find Aurora's blog HERE, on Facebook HERE, and can buy the oh-so-fabulous read on Amazon, HERE. Choose your virtual weapon, readers, and ENJOY!

Thanks, Aurora! Can't wait for your next David n' Lucy masterpiece ( :

P.s. Does she not look like the coolest person EVER? The socks. The tat. The necklace. I kind of want to be her friend. Just sayin'. 

Dialogue Overrated

Thought this was "adorkable".... can YOU tell a story without dialogue?

Disney can ( :

eBook Revolution

Peeps, I'm headed to another Writer's Conference! 

[Woot, woot! Three cheers!]

Its the San Francisco Writers Conference in--wait for it--San Francisco, CA.

I know, crazy, right? Naming the conference after the city? I thought it was weird too. Heehee.

ANY-way... Whilst stalking the agents I shall be meeting my doom with during the Agent Speed Dating session, I ran across THIS article, that one of the agents posted on her twitter page. To save you the long boring and--might I add--somewhat unnecessary introduction of the article, I will summarize the underlying sentiment: 

Writers, bloggers, readers and the publishing industry are focusing on the wrong part of the "eBook revolution."

Instead of being threatened by the introduction of the eBook, and its implications on the way we CURRENTLY do things, we should instead focus on the limitless possibilities of the FUTURE. What can the eBook do for us? His words:

"The novel has helped foster publishing’s success since it was invented by Cervantes over 400 years ago, and yet readers—more than a decade into the arrival of ebooks—are experiencing stories on a screen in much the same way they do on the page. In fact, Apple recently filed a patent for an “animated graphical user interface,” which is basically digital page-turning. Where we could be innovating, we’re just creating another skeuomorph.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The screen was supposed to be limitless, a portal to another dimension. A magical mirror in which truly anything could appear: words, pictures, movies, sound. And yet novels have merely traded one container for another, with stories trapped inside. Because of this, the future has so far proved to be an illusion, if not a setback."

The author then introduces his own interactive novel, wherein the reader has the freedom to choose the book order, the contents, narrator and the ability to mix n' match everything like an iTunes playlist. He also included book websites, fake email addresses for the characters, photos, and music. 

The switch to this new, interactive style of storytelling, the author claims, is inevitable. 

"Stories began before the invention of the book: as oral tales, recited poetry, knots in a rope or even just sound and rhythm. And stories will continue to evolve. But we can’t let the fact that these are new iterations of something we hold dear deter us from embracing them."

Honestly? The guy kinda sounded like he had a chip on his shoulder about this. Just sayin'. 

Besides that, though, the dude DID make some solid points. 

Don't get me wrong, die hearts! I am, and will forever be, a traditionalists when it comes to reading. NOTHING is as good as feeling the rough grain of the page beneath my fingers... smelling that ink-and-paper smell waft up with the turn of a page... or hearing the crack of a brand-new-book spine. I love real books.

Always have. Always will. 

But still. 

I was fascinated by this writer's point of view. And I have to admit, I'd never even considered eBooks in this fashion. This new, interactive, weirdly WEIRD way of approaching a book. It kinda reminds me of a high-tech, futuristic pop up book for e-readers. Heehee. 

In a conceptual form, it sounds interesting. And I have a certain amount of fascination that comes with the idea. But then I really think about experiencing a book that way and go: 

Eww. Gross. 

Where is the imagination in this new book universe? The ability to create, shape and develop your own personal world as a reader? Because that's what good books do, right? Give you just enough of a boost to push your imagination into its own interpretation of the world? Books challenge creativity and inspire the mind. If all that imagining is done for you, doesn't it kinda take away part of the thrill and excitement? 

I mean, lets be honest... how many of you were disapointed when you finally saw someone ELSE's onscreen interpretation of Twilight. Or Harry Potter. Or the Hunger Games... [insert any book-made-into-movie]... 

You get my point. 

Then again, maybe I'm just one of those ol' timers in denial about a world that is rapidly changing, with or without me. Maybe this author is right. Does my hesitation to embrace this new kind of reading is really have any merit?

Your thoughts, peeps!! I wanna hear 'em!

Hi, my name is Julie...

... and I'm a Pinterest addict. 

It didn't used to be this way. Once upon a time... a long time ago... I was just your average, everyday Facebook addict, perusing the comings and goings of my ump-teen-million friends on my Home page. There were no pins ruling my life. No midnight scrolls through the popular page. No inspirational quotes to make me wanna lose weight. No pictures of delicious foods that made me want to say "SCREW IT!" to the scale. 

And the words "Did you see what I pinned?" Definitely did not exist in my vocab. 

I blame Chan. 

Yes. You know who you are, Chan. 

You and your "I fall asleep pinning" and "I'm a virtual hoarder" and "Check out what I have on X, Y, Z boards" has officially rubbed off on me, making Pinterest a permanent fixture in my once "virtual hoarding free" life. It might even replace Facebook for the number one Time Waster spot. I just don't know yet. 

The worst part is, I can't even decide whether to stab you in your sleep for it, or put you on a pedestal and worship your goddess-like wisdom. 

The jury is still out. 

*sigh*

On the bright side, dear writers, due to said newly found Pinterest addiction, I discovered this gem:

And let me just say that Princes have been a HIGHLY underrated aspect of Disney stories. Wouldn't you agree? I mean, what gives?! We hear all about these damsels in distress princesses... everything down to the rules broken, woodland animals sung to, and shoes lost... but when it comes to their hunky counterparts? The men folk totes get the shaft!

Completely unfair, if I do say so myself. 

I count myself lucky to specialize in the Young Adult. Which, as you know, prides itself on equal opportunity. Spreading the love and word count equally (and, perhaps, sometimes skewed unintentionally in favor of) our mocho, good-lookin', totally delicious pieces of man-candy.

Three cheers for that! 

And pats on the back all around for fellow YA writers, who are with me in our appreciation for our rough n' tough, sometimes-damaged, misunderstood, at times awkward, but always irresistibly attractive male characters. 

You. Go. 

Perspective

So I've been thinking a lot about perspective recently. 

This is probably because earlier this week, one of my younger friends was devastated by a boy. You've been there, right? That moment when your dreamy, whimsical high school heart throb ends up--literally--crushing your soul? 

Oh yeah... I SOOOOO have.

I'm afraid that maybe I didn't react as sensitive to said soul crushing as I ought to have. And I got to thinking that it was probably because my perspective has matured like ninety nine point nine hundred thousand (yes, I'm aware I'm making up numbers) times since I was her age. 

I'd had multiple boyfriends when I was young. 

Settled down with a high school sweet heart. 

Had my heart CRUSHED by said high school sweet heart. 

Become a man eater in college. 

And was finally snagged by the Prince Charming of prince charmmings. A guy so perfect for me that I would never have been able to pick him out, if I'd been given a whole catalogue of prince charming characteristics to choose from!

I've been to the soul crushing place. Survived. And come out realizing that in retrospect? That heart wrenching moment when the man at the center of your high school world decides he doesn't want you... just doesn't even matter. 

But that's perspective for you. 

Its like writing. 

A couple months ago, an agent showed interest in reading part of my manuscript, then flattened my ego with a meat pounder me when she said she didn't like certain aspects of it that needed to be changed. Things I did NOT want to change. I had a discussion with her about these things, and when we were through, decided to just say "Pooooo on you, agent!" and move onto the next query.

But her comments stuck with me.

They were painful. And I didn't like hearing them. And I even rejected their potential worth. But eventually? I made the changes.

PEOPLE! My book is SO MUCH BETTER!

I just finished revising and rereading the whole book with said agent's suggestions, and the work has improved. Its more intense. It grabs the reader. It grounds them more thoroughly in the story. And those little elements that I thought were such a big deal when she first suggested the ax?

Not even important.

I'm sure when we all get to the other side of success, we'll realize that concept on an even grander scale. That all those late nights of revising, moments of utter and complete writer's block, not to mention the soul-sucking, heart-wrenching agent rejections and criticisms that seemed like SUCH A BIG DEAL AT THE TIME.... were not only "not that big of a deal," but that they ended up DEFINING who we are as writers. 

Perspective... brought to you by your daily
dose of bumper sticker wisdom.

Those moments world-altering hurt, embarrassment, and pain? They define you. Shape your future. Teach lessons. And make you--and your writing--into the final finished, beautiful product.

So persevere, fellow writers! And keep it all in perspective.

Never too old....

... for a little dress up! 

Friends, I may be a twenty six year old, oh-so-mature law school graduate... but lemme tell you, dressing up STILL hasn't gotten old! And lest be honest... I rock the petticoat. Luckily, I have friends who are still young souls too...

We caused mayhem and general tomfoolery by going to a STEAMPUNK SYMPOSIUM on Saturday!! The symposium of nerd-ham was housed on the Queen Mary, which is docked in Long Beach, CA. Supposedly the Queen Mary is quite haunted... (Oooooo!).... but aside from a few very creepily done costumes, we saw no ghosts. I am, however, quite determined to--at some point--rent a room there for the night. Bring on the haunting! 

We were FAR from the strangest people at said symposium, and had a blast channeling our inner nerds. We were also the talk of the kitchen when we ransacked the Cheesecake Factory afterwards. 

It. Was. AWESOME!

Who needs Halloween to dress up, anyway?

In other news, I found THIS blog post by Rachelle Gardner, to be a gem. You can read the article below, or follow the link to her post. She's got many a gem on her site! Happy reading, my wonderful writer-ites!

Back when I was in my 20′s, I went through a phase in which I was extremely unhappy with my looks. My hair, my face, my weight, my clothes — nothing was right. I was buying more expensive makeup, going on fad diets, and spending too much money on clothes in the attempt to feel better about myself.

One day I had an “aha” moment when I realized I was feeding myself a steady diet of fashion magazines like Glamour, and entertainment magazines like People, that featured an endless array of “beautiful people” who would always be prettier, skinnier, and more fashionable than I (and who, in fact, didn’t really exist except as a product of endless Photoshopping). Deciding to give up my magazine addiction, I noticed a substantial improvement in my self-image over the next several months. The difference was striking and left a powerful impression on me, and I’ve been hyper-aware of insidious, unrealistic influences in my life ever since, avoiding them when possible.

I learned an important lesson: We can identify the things that are causing us to be less than contented, and eliminate them. I’ve used this lesson to make other changes, such as:

→ After joining Costco, I realized we were buying more and more junk we didn’t need. Simply shopping in that store gave us the discontent of not having the junk that was such a good price! I stopped going to Costco ten years ago, have never missed it, and have probably saved thousands of dollars.

→ I used to be highly involved in the parent-teacher organization at my kids’ school. But it was always a combative environment, and while the goal was ostensibly to improve the educational experience of the children, nothing was ever accomplished and everyone was always unhappy. I quit my involvement (finding ways to help the school without attending those meetings) and as a result, my satisfaction with the school increased.

There’s a reason I’m giving you these examples. I think we all can stand to ask ourselves if there are ways we can increase our day-to-day satisfaction by paying attention to things that feed our discontent, and eliminating them.

For writers, my observation and completely unscientific conclusion is this:

The #1 cause of writer discontent is talking to other writers.

Ironic! Talking to other writers is also the most helpful way to get support, encouragement, and knowledge about the industry. Nevertheless, a large percentage of the problems writers have are from either,

(1) comparing themselves with other writers, or

(2) getting inaccurate information from other writers, or

(3) hanging out in writer loops or chatrooms where discontented writers are venting their woes.

If you’re unhappy with something in your writing life, ask yourself: Am I comparing my sales to those of other writers? Am I comparing my experience with another writer’s experience? (Remember, everyone’s path is unique.) Am I upset about something another writer told me, without having any objective verification of its truth? Am I paying too much attention to the complaints of unhappy authors?

It’s crucial to avoid comparison, and set your own yardstick for success. Your path is not going to look like anyone else’s.

Are you wasting valuable time and energy ranting about the unfairness of the industry, or the difficulties of getting published, when you could focus elsewhere—on writing for instance—and be happier? Are you worrying about things you can’t control instead of focusing on things within your sphere of influence?

While author loops can be terrific forums for high-minded discussion, too often they devolve into complaints and “piling on,” where everyone feeds everyone else’s dissatisfaction.

Les Miserables

Wow.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. 

WOW. 

I feel like almost anything I say about this film will sound half you-know-what and washed up. But I have to try. Its a moral imperative. I can't simply watch such an incredible production and NOT gush about it. So you shall just have to listen as I stumble my way through an attempt to give this show justice!

Favorites...

Helen Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohnen

Can the woman do no wrong? She's creepy. But amazing. I wanted to hate her, but by the end, I kinda felt a tinsey bit sorry for them. Plus they were both hilarious. Three cheers for you, Helen and Sacha! 

***

Daniel Huttlestone... 

And little people know

When little people fight

We may look easy pickin's but we got some bite

So never kick a dog . . . because he's just a pup . . .

You better . . . run for cover . . . when the pup . . . grows u--

I cried.

***

"A little drop of rain . . . can hardly hurt me now . . . and rain . . .  will make the flowers grow."

Such a beautiful, sad moment. And, in general, I think Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks killed it as Marius and Eponine. 

 

***

Another Eponine moment . . . 

"In the rain, the pavement shines like silver. . ."

I read online that before she was cast, Smantha Barks was competing against Lea Michelle, Scarlett Johansen and Taylor Swift for the role. Thank HEAVENS she got it instead of them. I can't imagine any of those three even coming close to doing as good a job as Samantha. 

***

Anne Hathaway's performance as Fontaine . . . Especially during the whole "Lovely Ladies" and "I Dreamed a Dream" sequence. Wow. 

***

Of course, Hugh Jackman . . . though, I feel stupid, because before last night, I had no idea he could sing. He did amazing. I'm positive there will be an Oscar nomination. 

***

"Do you hear the people sing?"

I got some honest to goodness, spine tingling goosebumps during this song. So, SO well done!

***

But I have to admit, out of all the Oscar-worthy moments in this amazing production, I give it to Eddie Redmayne for stealing the show. For me, at least . . .  

. . . his rendition of Empty Chairs was awe-inspiring. It was possibly my favorite moment of the show. I keep trying to write a description of how tragically beautiful this piece was . . . how emotional and raw he portrayed Marius's grief . . . but every time I try, my words come out sounding empty and hollow. I suppose you just have to see it yourself . . . It is hands down the best rendition I've ever heard or seen of Empty Chairs. Supporting actor nomination? Pretty please? Methinks we'll be seeing a LOT more of Mr. Redmayne in the near future . . . 

"Empty chairs at empty tables . . ."

 I went to Les Mis, feeling I already knew the show. I left knowing I never had.

I don't know if it was the big production budget . . . seeing on a big screen (where the emotions are more detailed and precise), or a combination of both, but seeing this production of Les Miserables was different. Like seeing it the first time. The way it was meant to be experienced. 

This was emotion. It was real. It was dirty and sad and inspiring. And it was nothing like the times I had seen it before. I loved every sad, tragic, happy minute of it, and want to see it again!

Your thoughts? Comments?

My Precious-es

*Side Note: Me n' Blogger are fighting. Formatting issues are the resulting casualty. So sorry for some of the weird-ness... Its out of my hands blog peeps!


John Milton wrote:

"A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life."

Do I know exactly what it means? 

Yea---no. 

But since books ARE My Precious (I'm still riddin' the "Hobbit high," can you tell?), and I've always pretty much consider myself a master spirit (I mean, come on, really?), I thought it made a pretty good quote to round up my year of book-ness!By the way, random side note... this pic of Gollum? Totally looks like what my mom used to call my "chin up" smile:

Coincidence? I think not.

(P.s., I'm the blonde babe in the yellow shirt, if you didn't make the Gollum connection. The pink cherub with the cheeks is my little brother, who will probably be mortified that I posted physical evidence on my blog that my mom secretly wanted another girl, not a boy. Heehee.)

(Just kidding about the mom wanting a girl thing... but seriously... boys in pink, mom? Heehee again.)

Moving on...

Its been another glorious year of reading! You can find a list of My Precious-es under the "Book Worm" tab at the top of this here blog. I like to read all genres, but most of them were YA this year. I heard a guy at a writing conference say one time that writers should read 300 books in their chosen genre, that have been published in the past 5 years. So that's the excuse I give when people ask me why I read so much YA. 

But lets be honest. You all know me. 

I'm just a straight up YA addict! 

I really should start making some kind of rating system for my junkie Precious list, cause not all those books were created equal. I log all of them down. Not just the ones I read within a 24 hr. time frame. Then again, I suppose if you're too lazy to click on my goodreads link to the right, then you probably don't care much what rating I'd give the books anyway, right? 

ANY-whoooo! Here's my top five (in no particular order):

The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa 

"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad..."

I thought I was done with vampire books, that I had read all that was worth reading as far as our immortal, blood-sucking friends go. I--in a word--was WRONG. Julie Kagawa's vampire dystopian was epic. I fell in love! Read it. You'll be glad you did. (Twilight wha??)

Partials, Dan Wells

"The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there."

This was actually one of those that kept me up thinking and pondering into the wee hours of the morning. What does it mean to be human? Can it be measured? Created? Bought? Or is it one of those abstract concepts we will never be able to tag an easy definition to? I can't wait for the next installment of this series! 

The Running Dream, Wendelin Van Draanen

"Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?

As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.

With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her."

This is one of those books that made me laugh, weep and ache with equal parts throughout the entire ordeal. Jessica's injuries and her devastating loss seem almost too much to bear at times, and you almost want to throw down the book in protest of her hardships! But then--ahhh--to overcome! The sweet victory she achieves when she overcomes her own personal Gethsemane is beautiful and incredibly inspiring. I absolutely adored this book!

Ashes, Ilsa J. Bick

"An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

Holy goodness... can you say CREEP-TASTIC?! This book gave me goosebumps! Bick does not shy away from make-your-skin-crawl descriptions of horrific end-of-the-world grotesque-ness, and has no qualms about making you check your closet for monsters after reading this. Oh and also? She is the new Queen Masta of cliff hangers. For real. Read with lights on.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart

"Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:

Debate Club. Her father’s “bunny rabbit." A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:

A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.

No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer. Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society. Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew’s lying to her. And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:

Possibly a criminal mastermind. This is the story of how she got that way."

THANK YOU, Barbara Kloss, for recommending this delicious book! Definitely a "My TOP Precious" contender! Perhaps its because I walked the thin line of "criminal mastermind" myself, back in the day, but this book struck home. I haven't has as much wicked delight reading a book since I read "The Boys Start the War, the Girls Get Even," back in grade school! Frankie is witty, clever, and can get a whole heap of boys to do her bidding, without even breaking a sweat. This book is fresh, original  and perfect, if you're looking for something funny and unique! 

SO, there you have it, my fellow read-a-holics! My 2012 Precious-es. My top five reads of the year. And although it physically pained me to eliminate some of the books I did (dagger to the soul), the top five can, well, only hold five. *sigh* Enjoy your own delicious holiday reads! I look forward to seeing some of your own 2012 highlights in the next few days!