Chicklit or Horror?

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Gravity vs. The Girl by Riley NoehrenGravity vs. the Girl by Riley Noehren

Samantha Green has just spent an entire year in her pajamas, and she is beginning to regret it. What’s more, she is haunted by four ghosts that are former versions of herself. First up is the overachieving and materialistic attorney, who is furious with Samantha for throwing away the career she worked so hard to build. Second is the lackadaisical college student who is high on life but low on responsibility. Next is the melodramatic teenager, who is consumed with her social standing, teal eyeliner and teased bangs. Finally, there is the scrappy six-year old, whose only objective is to overcome gravity so that she can fly. Samantha’s ghosts alternate between fighting with each other, rallying around Samantha’s budding sanity and falling in love with a string of good-for-nothing drummers. Despite her reluctance to do so, Samantha must rely on these spirits from the past to repair the present and ensure her future.

Inbetween Sundays, one of the weekly podcasts I subscribe to, has this little fun little segment called Chick Flick or Horror Movie, where one of the hosts would say the title of a movie and its synopsis, and the other would have to guess if it’s a horror movie or a chick flick. Easy enough? Not for the hosts, both male, which is part of the fun: I find it hilarious to hear them think that Britney Spears’ first movie Crossroads is a horror movie. The thing that struck me about the game is the fact that there are few grey areas, since genres in Hollywood seem to be mutually exclusive. Most commercial movies are typically classified only under one specific genre: a comedy movie may be able to teach life lessons and bring some tears to but it won’t be classified as a drama, just like a horror movie cannot be a romantic comedy.

Books, however, are a different story. In literature more so than in cinema, genres evolve as more and more books are written and published. Nowadays, many books are a mixture of two or more genres. Of course, it’s not always easy to classify books into their respective mixed genres, especially if you’re rather broad and loose with classifications, as I am: I only really divide books into two genres, fantasy and non-fantasy. Anything that falls out of the ordinary is fantasy for me.

Which brings me to my conundrum with Riley Noehren’s Gravity vs. the Girl. This Whitney Award winner for Best Novel by a New Author in 2009 reads like standard non-fantasy chick lit right from the opening pages…click here to read the rest of the review.

Rating: [rating=4]

2010 Challenge Status:
* Book # 37 out of 100 for 2010

→ Get Gravity vs. the Girl by Riley Noehren from Amazon.com
→ Riley Noehren’s website

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Sample Fridays (3)

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Let’s start off Sample Fridays # 3 with…a logo! Yay!

Yes, it’s a play on Amazon’s logo and Kindle, since I get my samples from Amazon and I read it in Kindle (for iPhone). Hee.

Before I continue, just a sharing. I am still contemplating on getting a Kindle for myself since I seem to be reading ebooks more and more now. So last week, I was browsing and comparing the different ebook readers, namely, the Kindle, the nook, and the Kobo reader (thanks to Chachic for sharing the last one with me). I read reviews, weighed pros and cons and wondered if maybe, the other ebook readers are more worth it than Kindle. I was already leaning into the nook, but then it hit me:

  • I already bought books from Amazon.
  • If I get a nook, that would defeat the purpose of getting those books, right? I’d have to acquire them again.
  • I am really just an Amazon fangirl.

I still haven’t made a final decision, because I’m not even sure if I want to buy. The price drop in the readers ($189 for Kindle, $149 for nook WiFi and $199 for nook WiFi & 3G) made them even more tempting though.

Hmm.

But anyway. I’m not in a hurry. Onto the samples! Book covers and blurbs from Goodreads. :)

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

To impress the popular girls on a high school trip to London, klutzy Callie buys real Prada heels. But trying them on, she trips…conks her head…and wakes up in the year 1815!There Callie meets Emily, who takes her in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. As she spends time with Emily’s family, Callie warms to them—particularly to Emily’s cousin Alex, a hottie and a duke, if a tad arrogant.

But can Callie save Emily from a dire engagement, and win Alex’s heart, before her time in the past is up?

More Cabot than Ibbotson, Prada and Prejudice is a high-concept romantic comedy about finding friendship and love in the past in order to have happiness in the present.

I got curious with Mandy Hubbard when I put You Wish in my WoW for this week. This seems like a fun, normal YA/chicklit/sorta fantasy since Callie ends up being in the past. I bet it’s a dream, though. I just wonder how much similarity this book has with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? I hope it has a lot, and I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis

I’d love a cup of coffee. I wish she knew how pretty she was. I wish I could drop this kid in the dryer sometimes. I just want her to be happy. I hope she didn’t find out what Ben said about her. I wish I knew how many calories were in a bite of muffin…

Joy is used to hearing Whispers. She’s used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people’s deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good, to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people’s lives—especially Joy’s—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears a frightening whisper from Jessica’s own mind, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own.

I finished reading the sample of this last night, and it left me wanting for more! It seemed like a really good story, and it has a lot of good reviews, too! The capitalization of words that refer to their gift/curse kind of threw me off while reading, though — I mean, if you can Hear Whispers, it’s kind of hard to ignore that, right? See what I mean?

Beauty Sleep by Cameron DokeyBeauty Sleep: A Retelling of Sleeping Beauty by Cameron Dokey

The Princess Aurore has had an unusual childhood. Cursed at birth, Aurore is fated to prick her finger at the age of sixteen and sleep for one hundred years — until a prince awakens her with a kiss. So, to protect her, Aurore’s loving parents forbid any task requiring a needle.

Unable to sew or embroider like most little princesses, Aurore instead explores the castle grounds and beyond, where her warmth and generosity soon endear her to the townspeople. their devotion to the spirited princess grows as she does.

On her sixteenth birthday, Aurore learns that the impending curse will harm not only her, but the entire kingdom as well. Unwilling to cause suffering, she will embark on a quest to end the evil magic. The princess’s bravery will be rewarded as she finds adventure, enchantment, a handsome prince, and ultimately her destiny

Fairy tales! Beauty Sleep’s sample is charming, especially at the part where Aurore discusses how magic works in her world: “If you haven’t grown up here but come to live, one of two things can happen, of course: Either the magic leaves you alone, or it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t, it does the same thing to you as to the rest of us: It makes you more of what you are.”

Three samples only, since I was pretty busy this week. :) More for next!

If you also sample in Amazon (or even in Barnes and Noble or other sites), what have you sampled lately? Share them in the comments and I’ll check them out!

OH AND DON’T FORGET! Feed by Mira Grant giveaway is still ongoing — if you haven’t entered, then what are you waiting for? :D

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Second Life Falls Short

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The Short Second Life of Bree TannerThe Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits.

In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood… life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don’t draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn’t know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as “her”. As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trus. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?

It was a success story that began with a dream – literally. In 2003, a housewife and law school aspirant who had never written a short story in her entire life woke up from a vivid dream about a vampire who was in love with a human girl, but who also thirsted for her blood. The woman felt compelled to write the dream down, just for herself, until her sister urged her to send the manuscript for publication. Fifteen letters and nine rejections later, Stephenie Meyer found a deal that catapulted her to literary fame (and sometimes infamy) with her Twilight saga.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years: Twilight is the story of an ordinary human girl named Bella Swan and her romance with a 107-year-old vampire Edward Cullen. The saga is composed of four books – Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn – that chronicle their romance and attendant complications (werewolf Jacob Black, and the Volturi, who enforce vampire law). Midnight Sun, the companion novel to the saga that tells the story from Edward’s point of view, was delayed indefinitely after the chapters were leaked online, and Meyer allegedly decided to focus her energy on non-Twilight books.

Or so we thought. Yet now we have Bree Tanner, a new novella in the same universe as the Twilight Saga. Click here to read the rest of the review.

Rating: [rating=2]

2010 Challenge Status:
* Book # 38 out of 100 for 2010
* Book # 20 out of 20 Fantasy books for 2010

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Waiting on Wednesday: You Wish by Mandy Hubbard

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I’m still on a slight fantasy break, even for Waiting on Wednesday…although I don’t think this particular book is a break from fantasy. Wait, say what? I’m not sure if that sentence made sense.

Anyway, “Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Waiting on Wednesday

This week’s pick is…

You Wish by Mandy HubbardYou Wish by Mandy Hubbard
Release Date: August 5, 2010

Kayla McHenry’s sweet sixteenth sucks! Her dad left, her grades dropped, and her BFF is dating the boy Kayla’s secretly loved for years. Blowing out her candles, Kayla thinks: I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin’ do.

Kayla wakes the next day to a life-sized, bright pink My Little Pony outside her window. Then a year’s supply of gumballs arrives. And a boy named Ken with a disturbing resemblance to the doll of same name stalks her. As the ghosts of Kayla’s wishes-past appear, they take her on a wild ride… but they MUST STOP. Because when she was 15? She wished Ben Mackenzie would kiss her.

And Ben is her best friend’s boyfriend.

The cover’s so pink and girly! So chick-lit-y! I love it! The story somehow reminds me of the movie 13 Going on 30 for some reason, and I think it’s because of the wish thing. I can’t wait to get a copy of this book and see what happens with Kayla’s wishes. :D

What are you waiting on this week?

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Teaser Tuesday: Take Me There by Susane Colasanti

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I thought I’d take a break from all the fantasy reads since I’m currently ahead anyway, so I’m now back to reading some contemporary YA, to sort of cleanse the reading palate and get me ready for more fantasy reads ahead.

Yes, I know that was one long (run-on?) sentence. But for now: whatever. The book I’m reading now doesn’t seem to like long sentences, so I’m going for that as some kind of offset.

This week’s Teaser Tuesday comes from Take Me There by Susane Colasanti.

Take Me There by Susane Colasanti

Rhiannon is completely devastated after the breakup with her boyfriend. She wants him back.Nicole’s ex still wants to be with her, but she’s obsessed with someone else.

James is hopelessly in love with Rhiannon, who doesn’t see that their friendship can be so much more.

Will their desire to take a mean girl down a notch bring these three friends what they want . . . and more?

Set during one life-altering week and told in three realistic perspectives, this engaging, witty novel shows the ups and downs of love, friendship, and karma.

Honestly? It’s taking me a bit to absorb this story. I’ve read When It Happens by the same author and I wasn’t really that impressed, but I thought I’d give her another chance this time, in hopes of being surprised (like how I was with Elizabeth Scott‘s Stealing Heaven). So far, I’ve got two reactions:

  • These kids are supposed to be in high school — do they really talk that way?
  • What is the point of this story?

It wasn’t until about page 100 that finally something made sense. I’m still skeptical if I will like this story (I mean, why take a third of the book before something finally connects?), but I will try to finish this in hopes of something changing my mind at some point.

I think I’m being mean now, but I will stop because that’s supposed to be for reviews. I will give this book a chance, I will give this book a chance.

Where was I? Oh, the teaser:

So I’m like, “But you are hurting her.”

And he’s all, “That’s not my fault.”

And I’m like, “Well then whose fault is it?”

Hm. I’ll reserve all other opinions when I’m done. But for now…yep, I’ll give this book a chance.

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