Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day to everyone! I hope you have a happy, fun, day!

I'm off to make mashed potatoes now--yum! :D

Best wishes,

Bookworm

New Winner Picked!

Unfortunately, our last contest winner was international, so I have to pick a new winner. (To international friends: have no fear, there WILL be some intl. contests in the future, sorry!)

The new winner of Demon Princess is...

Jessica Kennedy!

Congrats, Jessica! I am emailing you right now, please respond within 48 hours! (:

2 Weeks of In My Mailbox!

Today's a lazy Sunday, so I'm not in the posting-summaries mood. (: Meme created by the awesome Kristi, as always!

This week I received:

From Steph Su:

You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay

(Really excited to check this one out, I've been wanting it for ages and it sounds awesome!)

Secret Society by Tom Dolby

(This sounds really cool, too. I love the spooky "secret society" idea. Thanks, Steph!)

From the bookstore:

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Super excited to read this. I'm trying to catch up with this trend and see what it's all about by picking up Twilight (about 100 pages in and liking it OK). I saw New Moon on Friday, and I gotta say, it totally blew the first movie out of water. Go Team Jedward (I'm neutral, what can I say?)!

Last week in the mail:

From Random House:

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

(Another bookish trend I've got to start. Beautiful cover art, BTW.)

Eragon's Guide to Alagaesia by Christopher Paolini

(I've already read this one, expect a review soon! Beautiful artwork and very fun to flip through.)

I So Don't Do Spooky

Author: Barrie Summy

Pages: 256

Published: December 8 2009, Delacorte Press

Age Range: Girls 9-13

Cover Score: B

Overall Grade: A

Summary: Super sleuth Sherry Baldwin Holmes thought she was done with mysteries after she cracked a very important case over spring break in San Diego with her ghost mother and best friend, Junie. But the Academy of Spirits wants her back to help them solve another mystery: Sherry's stepmother is in danger, but who could it be who's trying to hurt her? An angry student? A stalker? A member of the rival robotics team? Whatever it is, Sherry's already got a lot on her plate. Her best friend is finally interested in clothes and makeup, and her mom is competing in the Ghostlympics, where the winner receives five minutes of Real Time. But first Sherry has to get involved in a creepy, freaky mystery. But...she SO doesn't do spooky.

My thoughts: Yay! I was so psyched to start this one. I LOVED the first book in the series, I SO Don't Do Mysteries (my review here), so my main concern going into the second book was if it could be as good as the previous. At first, I had my doubts. The book was a little slow at the beginning, but quickly picked up and breezed by.

Sherry, as always, was a perfect lead character: she had a great, spunky voice, which made the first-person narration super-fun to read, and a hilarious sense of humor. The creativity (ie ghost moms) put into this book just made it all the more enjoyable and funny, and the writing and fast-paced plot sucked me in and kept me there until the satisfying ending. I wish there had been more suspects along the way to add more suspense, but the twists and turns incorporated into the story still made it hard to put the book down! I also really liked how there was a bit of supernatural-fantasy combined with the mystery, it made the case so much more interesting!

Overall, I So Don't Do Spooky was a fun, light read that leaves me eagerly awaiting for the next book in the series, I So Don't Do Makeup. An impressive start to a fun new tween series!

Must read! Check it out Don't Bother

Last Day to Enter!

If you haven't checked out the Demon Princess contest yet, go enter before it's too late--the contest will end tonight at 12:00 midnight!

The Monday Muse: Interview with Michelle Rowen

Today's Muse: Michelle Rowen

Author of: Demon Princess (review here)

Interested in winning a copy of Demon Princess? Enter my birthday contest here!

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Bookworm: Welcome, Michelle! To start, will you please tell us how the idea for Demon Princess came to you?

Michelle: It was a number of things that sparked the idea for Demon Princess. Originally, Nikki wasn't even a princess, she was just the daughter of a demon, but I though making her a princess and heir to a demonic throne helped to mess up her life just that much more. ;) I was partially inspired by the Disney Princess fad that seemed (and still seems) to be everywhere and I thought a demon princess would be the exact opposite of all that cutesiness. I was also inspired by Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries, but I thought--what if you found out that not only were you a princess, but a DEMON princess? The story possibilities this opens up are really endless.

Bookworm: What was your inspiration for the characters?

Michelle: The characters for this book just sort of evolved. I knew Nikki would be the kind of heroine I typically like to write--the "everygal" thrust into a crazy, fantastical situation. I knew Michael, her guide and bodyguard would be the weird (but hot) guy who takes her attention away from the guy she thinks she wants to date. From there, they just became very real in my mind as I began writing them.

Bookworm: Who was your favorite character to write in the book?

Michelle: My favorite character and the one I know the best is the lead, Nikki, since I'm in in her head the whole time. She's fun and brave and has a good outlook and is able to see the humor in life. Secondly I love writing Michael because he was just so mysterious and secretive. I liked peeling back his layers and seeing what was underneath. That didn't sound right, but you know what I mean! ;)

Bookworm: Demons or vampires?

Michelle: I can't pick! I've always loved the vamps (well, the nice ones, anyway), but lately my books have become more focused on the demonic. Can't I have both?? [Bookworm: Agreed. Sorry Edward, but vampires are waaaay overrated!] (:

Bookworm: How long did it take you to write the book, start to finish?

Michelle: I wrote the first draft of Demon Princess for Nanowrimo 2006, but it wasn't quite ready when I was done. I considered abandoning it entirely but there was something about the book that I really liked and my gut told me to do the work and make it better. I had to completely rework the second half in my rewrite--originally I had this whole Lord of the Rings feel and there were wars and things that took away from it being specifically about Nikki. Once I rewrote it, my pacing was off and I had to go back in again. By the time my agent submitted it to publishers I probably poked at it for about six drafts, which is about four more than I usually do! It sold in the summer of 2008, so that means I worked on it for nearly two years and I'm very glad I never gave up on it!

Bookworm: What was your soundtrack while you were writing the book?

Michelle: My soundtracks for my books tend to rely very heavily on a lot of Pink (specifically her song "Trouble" and "Get the Party Started"), and Avril Lavigne ("Keep Holding On"). Some vintage Gwen Stefani, too (like "Spiderweb"). My computer crashed last year so I lost the specific track list I listened to for Reign or Shine, but those artist definitely help to sum it up. The second book, Reign Check, has a disconcertingly high amount of Miley Cyrus on it.

Bookworm: Speaking of which, can you give us a hint at what's next for Nikki in Reign or Shine, the sequel to Demon Princess?

Michelle: Oh, I have a lot of plans for my little demon princess. In book 2 she's really hoping to be able to balance her royally demon side with her normal teen side, but she finds out rather quickly that's going to be harder than she thinks, especially when dangerous parts of her "other" life visit her at her high school. Also, the news that she's half demon has reached the demon council in the Underworld and they very much want to meet her--whether she wants to or not. Nikki also comes to realize that having a boyfriend whom you're basically forbidden to openly date is not an easy task. ;)

Bookworm: What YA book have you recently read and loved?

Michelle: I devoured Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins a little while ago. The Hunger Games trilogy is absolutely brilliant. I'm currently reading Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston and am finding it brilliantly written.

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Thanks so much, Michelle! You can visit Michelle's website and check out a 2-chapter excerpt of Demon Princess, which was released in October, here

Reign Check will be out in June 2010--I can't wait! (:

The Clique Prequel: Charmed and Dangerous

Author: Lisi Harrison

Pages: 175

Published: October 27 2009, Poppy

Cover Rating: A

Overall Grade: A-

Once upon a time a few years back, there were five girls: Massie Block, Dylan Marvil, Kristen Gregory, Alicia Rivera, and Claire Lyons, who were all waiting to become fabulous. Massie was born to lead, Dylan needed some new friends who didn't just like her because her mom was famous, Kristen vowed that she would stop being a loser, Alicia was ready to prove herself as something other than a beta, and Claire was ready for fabulousness. They will all come together on midnight at Merri-Lee Marvil's fabulous New Year's Yves party...because sometimes when you meet someone, it just cliques.

My thoughts: This book was light and fun, and it was definitely cool to see how the Clique all began! Short and sweet, the writing was just as entertaining and enjoyable (as well as LOL-funny in places) as it is in the rest of the series. I loved how Ms. Harrison foreshadowed and hinted to the rest of the books in the series, even though those take place later in the future.

Taking place over one night, the book switched back and forth from one girl to the next, until they eventually all met up. It was interesting to see each Clique member's side of the story, and what they were like before the Pretty Committee. I also loved the way their group was formed, it was very clever (ahem, the charms).

My only problems were that a), the book was only 175 pages long and only took me about a day and a half to finish. Therefore, I found it ridiculous that it was bound as a hardcover, and $16.99, and b), it was a little weird to have a book that is targeted towards tween and teen readers revolve around a group of fourth graders (even though it was a prequel). It just wasn't realistic. I mean, fourth graders in Prada? Didn't work for me.

However, if you're looking for a quick, easy, and fun read, I'd recommend giving Charmed & Dangerous a try. I can't wait to see what's next for the Clique!

Must-Read!!! Check it out!! Don't Bother