Review: Auracle by Gina Rosati

Auracle
Gina Rosati
Release date: August 7th 2012
by Roaring Brook Press

 

16 year old Anna Rogan has a secret she's only shared with her best friend, Rei; she can astrally project out of her body, allowing her spirit to explore the world and the far reaches of the universe.

When there's a fatal accident and her classmate Taylor takes over Anna's body, what was an exhilarating distraction from her repressive home life threatens to become a permanent state. Faced with a future trapped in another dimension, Anna turns to Rei for help. Now the two of them must find a way to get Anna back into her body and stop Taylor from accusing an innocent friend of murder. Together Anna and Rei form a plan but it doesn't take into account the deeper feelings that are beginning to grow between them.

*A copy was provided by Macmillan for review purposes*

Utterly original and refreshing, Auracle is a breath of fresh air with its addicting premise full of riveting turns. This was even more so in my case where I hadn't read the synopsis in ages and, therefore, had no idea what I was getting into, causing me to be shocked by the actual premise itself. It absolutely thrilled me.

Since I'm hoping you all get the same exciting experience of going in blind I won't bring up the primary plot line, but work my way around it. What I can safely tell you, is it involves astral projection - which is fascinating in of itself. I was highly satisfied by the way the world building was brought up in this novel. We not only get great detail in how Anna goes about projecting and leaving her body, but the space - or dimension - she roams when she's ethereal is solidly created with the inclusion of thought-provoking theoretical physics as part of the explanations. As a very skeptical and science minded person, I appreciate that Rosati didn't leave it exclusively magical. As the plot progresses, we get even deeper into the stretches of Anna's abilities, leaving me completely immersed in this story.

Anna's witty and sharp narration is undemanding and strikingly easy to enjoy. The addition of a strong dysfunctional family dynamic is great for character building and to give an extra layer of depth to the story. With an alcoholic father, Anna is walking on eggshells in her home - using her astral projection as a way of escape. The side characters have a lot to offer to the story as well, with maybe the exception of Seth which, for having such a substantial part, is scarcely developed. The villain - Taylor - regardless of falling victim to the short skirts and rich attitude mean girl stereotype, plays her part particularly well in this story, especially towards the ending where she gets veritably crafty. Then there is Rei...

Surrounding a unique, fast-paced, page turning plot is a largely romantic substory. Rei is your very sweet, - albeit very perfect - love interest that didn't quite make my heart flutter, but he enchanted me with his charisma and sincere nature. We get a budding romance that is both meaningful and sweet. Those who get enamoured by "boy next door" love stories will adore it!

Auracle brings something new and exciting to the overly crowded YA paranormal genre. Its suspense, humor, and dramatics dispenses an irresistible entertainment value that will undoubtedly keep you up until the early hours!

4 Hot Espressos

Circle of Silence Tour Stop

Today I have the fabulous Carol Tanzman over the blog for Circle of Seilence's Blog Tour. I previously enjoyed her other novel, dancergirl - find my review here - and stay tuned for my review of Circle of Silence later this week! For today's post, I have an interview with Carol, along with a pretty awesome giveaway ;)

Circle of Silence 
Carol M. Tanzman
Publication date: July 24th 2012
by Harlequin Teen

 

THE BIGGEST STORY OF MY LIFE COULD BE HOW IT ENDS It's my turn to run a "Campus News" crew, and I've put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead.

A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flagpole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda or initiation secrets-until a student lands in the hospital under "strange" circumstances.

I "will" blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt...or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don't trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is "not" important to this story.)

But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera, or a victim in the top story of the newscast...be sure to watch "Campus News" at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.

Interview with Carol M. Tanzman

Hi Carol! Thanks so much for dropping by!
Q. Circle of Silence is stated as book 2 in the WiHi series, but it doesn't seem to be a sequel, can you tell us how it relates to dancergirl?

The books are, in essence, companion books. They’re stand-alones, they come to their own conclusions, and don’t have to be read in order. They are however, linked by setting; each book takes place in Brooklyn at the same high school, fictional Washington Irving High or WiHi, as the students call it. The main character in Circle of Silence makes a minor appearance in dancergirl and some of the characters from dancergirl make appearances in Circle of Silence. Since they are both contemporary YA thrillers, it was a way to write separate books while at the same time there’s something to unify them for the reader. 

Q. Circle of Silence deals with secret societies in a high school, did your high school have secret clubs or weird quirks, or was it pretty boring (like mine)?

If my high school had a secret society, it was so secret no one knew about it! Like almost all high schools, however, we had pretty distinct cliques. I was in the theatre clique. Part of what I’m writing about in Circle of Silence is identity and labels. I do think my high experience of being so identified with one group played a major part in the writing of the book.

Q. What was one of the best parts of writing this book?

I loved experimenting with two voices. I wasn’t sure that it would work at first, but the second “voice” ended up adding more tension and depth than I ever could have had with just a single first person point of view throughout. 

Q. What are you working on now?

I’ve just finished writing a quirky tween mystery with comedic touches. A bit of a departure for me but it was a lot of fun to write. I’m also starting another YA —but it’s too new to be able to talk about yet.

This or That:
- Bookmark or Dog eared? Dog eared. I wish I could say bookmark because I always feel bad dog-earring, but it’s the truth.  

- Paperback or Hardback? Paperback. It’s the economics of it as both reader and writer. Both Circle of Silence and dancergirl are published in paperback, which makes it very affordable. 

- Coffee or tea? Coffee, coffee, coffee. Cannot live without my caffeine fix! 

- Funny or scary? Scary. I love thrillers!

- Bad boy or good boy? Ah, well, I’ve always been attracted to the bad boy who, it turns out, has a good boy streak hidden inside!

- Simpsons or Family Guy? Simpsons. Been on so long, they’re like family.

- Hunger Games or Harry Potter? Hunger Games. Katniss is an amazing female character!

---

Thanks so much for having me a part of the tour, Carol! I'm happy that I got to know you! And not only because you love coffee so much :D

 

Carol's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Carol M. Tanzman is an award-winning theatre director and nationally recognized arts educator. Her first YA novel, The Shadow Place, was on YALSA's Quick Pick List of Recommended Books, the National Council of Teachers of English ALAN List of Best Books, and the CA Collection for Middle & Senior High Schools. In addition to the current Harlequin Teen books dancergirl and Circle of Silence she is a contributing poet to the upcoming Dare to Dream…Change the World anthology.

This post is a part of:

Full tour schedule:
Monday, July 23rd - Alice Marvel's
Tuesday, July 24th Book Birthday - Evie Bookish
Wednesday, July 25th - The Book Cellar 
Friday, July 27th - Kindle Fever

Monday, July 30th - Xpresso Reads
Wednesday, August 1st - Reading Angel
Friday, August 3rd - Harlequin Blog

Monday, August 6th- Letters Inside Out
Wednesday, August 8th - Chapter by Chapter
Friday, August 10th - I Just wanna Sit here and Read 

Xpresso Weekly: Stacking the Shelves (14)

Xpresso Weekly is my edition of Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews featuring the books I got this week, and I also mention blog news/happenings of the past week.

This week at Xpresso Reads

Hi fellow book lovers! We're almost in August can you believe!? Eek! And you know what we celebrated on the blog this week? Jenny Pox turned 2 and you can win the first three books in the series - signed! Today (Sunday) is the last day to enter so don't forget before you head off! Find the post here! I also had the Frost Blog Tour come by for my review and you have a bunch of chances to win both ecopies and paperbacks! Don't forget to check out my Facebook page for the latest cover reveals I found! And lastly, make sure to check out the sidebar for some pretty awesome giveaways that are ending soon!

Reviews on the blog this week:

Stacking the Shelves

As some of you can't or don't like to watch vlogs, the pictures are below! 

Click on covers or title links below for Goodreads

I got for review:

 

-SEND by Patty Blount
-Cinder by Marissa Meyer
-The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
-Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch

*A very big thank you to Raincoast Books, Scholastic Canada, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA, and Entangled Publishing for the review copies*

Hope you all had an epic week!
Leave me a link to your book haul and I'll go check it out! :)

Fresh Batch (July 29th - August 4th)

Exclusively titled for Xpresso Reads, Fresh Batch features the hottest releases of this upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

Pushing the Limits
Katie McGarry
Release date: July 31st, 2012
by Harlequin Teen

 

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Read my review here!

US vs UK cover:

 

Pushing the Limits book trailer:

 Katie's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Review: The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin

The Waiting Sky
Lara Zielin
Release date: August 2nd 2012
by Putnam Juvenile

 

One summer chasing tornadoes could finally change Jane's life for the better

Seventeen-year-old Jane McAllister can't quite admit her mother's alcoholism is spiraling dangerously out of control until she drives drunk, nearly killing them and Jane's best friend.

Jane has only one place to turn: her older brother Ethan, who left the problems at home years ago for college. A summer with him and his tornado-chasing buddies may just provide the time and space Jane needs to figure out her life and whether it still includes her mother. But she struggles with her anger at Ethan for leaving home and feels guilty--is she also abandoning her mom just when she needs Jane most? The carefree trip turned journey of self-discovery quickly becomes more than Jane bargained for, especially when the devilishly handsome Max steps into the picture.

*A copy was provided by Penguin Group USA for review purposes*

Twister was one of my absolute favourite movies. I used to watch it over and over, fascinated by the tornadoes. Even now, years later, I find myself mesmerized by all natural disasters. They're terrifying and set on destruction, making us seem incredibly small and powerless. When I learned that The Waiting Sky consisted of storm chasers, I simply couldn't wait to get all over this! However, storms are only one of the parts that constitutes this invigorating, intense story.

Our fantastic main character, Jane, is blind to her mother's recklessness. Sure her mom's an alcoholic, but she's not "that" bad, right? Jane's denial of her situation with her mother is remarkably compelling. Even though we know it's out of control, and that Jane should stop making it so easy for her, we're thrown into Jane's shoes so completely that we get a first hand look, and feel, at how difficult it is to accept this reality. Regardless of never having been in this situation myself, it felt highly realistic with just the right blend of naivety and cynicism. Her home life is harsh with no light in sight, which is why Jane decides to join her brother's storm chaser team for the summer.

From one destroyer to another, Jane leaves her intoxicated mother behind to study literal vortexes of destruction: Tornadoes. The perfect distraction from a very emotional plot, this storm chasing side story works incredibly well to turn this dark, dreary book into a richly layered story filled with amazing charm that punctures the bleakness. The team of storm chasers comprises of a gang of excellent supporting characters that have issues and lives of their own. Victor, especially, had me intrigued with his PTSD sufferings. At first I despised his moodiness and inconsiderate behavior, but as time passed I became really fond of how he dealt with the cards that he was given. It's clearly not just the main character that has true substance in this novel. Aside from Victor, Jane's best friend Cat radiates with a power and confidence that Jane needs at the moment. She needs someone to tell her that it is NOT ok, how her mom is behaving. Even though Jane may not acknowledge it, Cat is her rock, her fierce bitch slapper. Everybody needs to get their senses slapped into place sometimes.

With fabulous characters comes a wickedly gratifying plot that involves some very serious, relatable issues, plenty of excitement, exceptional family dynamics, and a spritz of romance - It's instantly engrossing and highly character-driven. The Waiting Sky was far more than I expected; Its two story lines are perfectly tailored together to create a tale of self-discovery that left me equally thrilled and emotionally drained. Twister with a twist, is what it is!

5 Hot Espressos