So, while I am impatiently watching the news for the ball to drop in Times Square, I want to tell you about the year in review.

January:
Entered 2 challenges that I sadly did not complete, but had fun entering and talking about them anyway (and read some awesome books that I would have not otherwise!)
2011 Debut Author Challenge
2011 Off the Shelf Challenge

Held The Bucket List’s first giveaway (baby steps!!)

February:
Celebrated Valentine’s Day with a strange twist and talked about love triangles

100 amazing people followed the site

Started Cover Discovered, a feature where I rant about the latest book covers I have found.

March:
Interviewed best-selling author, Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi

April:
Hosted the City of Bones book discussion

The Bucket List’s first guest post

May- June:
Top 5 Fictional Proms

My Dream Library

July:
Borders closes :(

August- December:
I went to college and left the blogosphere, besides a few posts here and there but I plan to be back on the air for spring semester.

I started this site in August of 2010 and it was awesome to see it turn one year old this year. You have been with me throughout all of it and I appreciate you all. You all are fantastic and great and I want to give you a huge, THANK YOU, for keeping me motivated in continuing showing you all about the great books I discover. I hope you stick around for another year of fun because this year will be even better than last year.


What will 2012 bring: hopefully it will not bring the end of the world, because The Bucket List will only get better with age. I hope to be online more than I was this semester, so I will definitely have more posts for you to read.

There will be more great giveaways that you could enter.

I am looking into going to BEA this year, something I have never done before, so if you have been, I would love to hear your experiences of the convention.

Since last year’s book discussion was on City of Bones to celebrate the release of City of Fallen Angels, I want to do this year’s book discussion on Fallen to celebrate the release of Rapture. Do you think this would be a good idea? If interested in participating in any way, please contact me HERE.

Holly Thompson was raised in New England, earned her B.A. in biology from Mount Holyoke College and her M.A. in English with a concentration in creative writing/​fiction from New York University. Long-time resident of Japan, she is a lecturer at Yokohama City University, where she teaches creative writing, academic writing, short stories and American culture.

Holly's fiction is often set in Japan. --Goodreads

1. Your novel, Orchards, is rich with setting. What were your influences to create the mikan farm as the ultimate setting of the novel?

First of all, thank you for reading and reviewing Orchards! I’m glad to know Kana’s voice spoke to you.

As for the setting of Orchards, I’ve lived in Japan for many years, and I apprenticed to a Japanese mikan farmer for a year and a half while researching an adult novel. I worked on the farm learning everything I could about mikan cultivation, while also absorbing as much as possible of local village life. Midway through that research, the farmer’s American-born niece came to visit the farm, and seeing her there, feeling like an outsider in that rural Japan environment where I’d begun to feel at home, started me thinking of a teen bicultural character sent to spend the summer there.

2. How long did it take you to write Orchards?

Parts of Orchards were composting in my brain for many years following the suicide of a fourteen-year-old daughter of a friend in the U.S. When I decided to really go forward with the novel, it was a matter of discovering the character who could tell the story (born out of that mikan farm setting), and then it was a matter of finding the courage to tackle writing a story that made me cry every day I worked on it. Once I’d decided to push through, it took about ten months from first draft to final. So…many years of mulling and ten months of writing and tweaking…and many tissues.

3. Orchards talks about teen suicide, bullying, death, and so much more. Why did you make your novel about such tough subjects?

These tough subjects are all around us, both in the U.S. and here in Japan. Orchards attempts to look at those subjects through bicultural Kana’s eyes. Another reason for tackling those subjects is to draw attention to them—bullying and depression and suicide prevention all need to be talked about and addressed by teens and adults, schools and communities. My hope is that Orchards will raise questions and lead to reflection and discussion and, maybe even, result in more help for those who need it.

4. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Aspiring authors need to read and write, of course. Read voraciously and write many different stories in different styles and approaches. But beyond that, to acquire writing material and develop stories, you need to be fully engaged with the world around you, wherever you are. So read and write, but also don’t read and write. Do things. Meet people. Experience as much as you can. And have the courage to venture well beyond your comfort zone.

5. What are you working on now? Can you tell us about it?

I’m working on a YA verse novel about a non-Japanese girl raised in Japan who looks European on the outside but inside is culturally very Japanese, and she is suddenly moved back to the U.S. where, well, things happen, and she encounters a pocket of Asia in America. I can’t really say much more than that. It’s not requiring quite as many tissues to write as Orchards but lots of research.

Fun Stuff!

Favorite Movie: Grave of the Fireflies—a moving, heartbreaking animated film
Favorite TV Show: Twilight Zone—great for when you’re stressed with too many deadlines
Favorite Food: Shaved ice with maccha (green tea) syrup, sweet red azuki beans, and condensed milk
Favorite Musical Artist/Group: Eric Clapton
Favorite Book: Here are a few… The Arrival by Shaun Tan, Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say, Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins, Snow by Orhan Pamuk, Keesha’s House by Helen Frost…

Thank you so much, Holly, for joining me today!  If you loved this interview as much as I did, check out Holly's website HERE.  Check out her book, Orchards, HERE.  And don't forget to read my review of her book HERE.

Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
Pages: 255
Source: Random Buzzers
Buy It: Amazon | Borders | Barnes & Noble

In the dim light of the darkroom, I'm alone, but not for long.
As white turns to gray, Kate is with me.
The background of the dance studio blurred, so the focus is all on her
legs extended in a perfect soaring split.
The straight line to my squiggle,
my forever-best friend.

Sixteen-year-old Liz Grayson is photogirl—sharp, focused and ready to take the world by storm with her camera. But Liz's entire life is called into question when her brother is accused of a crime—and the accuser is Liz's own best friend. As the aftershocks from that accusation rip through Liz's world, everything she thought she knew about photography, family, friendship and herself, shifts out of focus. And for the first time in her life, Liz finds herself unable to trust her own point of view. Told in stunning, searingly raw free verse, Exposed is Kimberly Marcus's gut-wrenching, riveting debut and will appeal to fans of Ellen Hopkins, Laurie Halse Anderson and Virginia Euwer Wolff. --Goodreads

Liz and Kate are best friends. Well, they were best friends. After Mike, Liz’s brother, does something unforgivable to Kate, Kate can barely look at her ex-best friend. Learning how to deal with losing her best friend, Liz loses her focus and passion for photography. She must face her fears and overcome the loss of a friend; she needs to clean the lens on her camera and start over.

Exposed is a verse novel. I cannot fathom how difficult it must be to put a whole story within verses. Marcus has done a fabulous job. She captured the full emotion of the novel within the structure she used. Her delivery and placement of the plot was pure genius. Each verse was a masterpiece, bringing about rhetoric strategies that definitely fit within the piece.

Throughout the novel, Liz’s photography sparks emotion to the reader. Her passion within the field takes a turn for the worse and better when her friend leaves her. Marcus created that passion to place character development in the plot and it was a great way to show Liz’s journey without so many words. Kate seemed like an ideal best friend. It was just how she dealt with her situation that showed her true colors.

As much as I wanted justice for the crime Mike had done to Kate, I found that the theme of the novel is not justice but moving on. The plot was drawn-up nicely. It reminded a lot of Hate List by Jennifer Brown. Exposed was fantastic. It truly posed questions of what was right or what was wrong.

Overall, if you like verse novels, you need to read this one. Exposed is a unique piece of work that takes the reader through an emotional rollercoaster ride that you will not forget.

First Sentence:

"I am the first one here."

Exposed by Kimberly Marcus, p. 1

Rating:

Cover: 4
Characters: 4
Writing Style: 5
Ending: 5
Plot: 5
Overall: 5

Leah Clifford has been an extreme cave tour guide, a camp counselor, a flight attendant, a pizza delivery girl, a waitress, and a grocery store clerk. Now she adds author to that list. She lives outside Cleveland, Ohio. This is her first book.

She can be found on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/leahclifford. --Goodreads

When I was a teen there really wasn't too much young adult that appealed to me. From a really young age (like, 3rd grade) I read Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz. My favorite movie as a teen was The Crow. Writing A Touch Mortal, I just wanted to get something out there that was darker than the norm. I tried to write a book that I would have liked as a teen.


I don't think I ever made a conscious decision to write about angels. I'm not at all religious, so I didn't feel any guilt at letting my characters just be themselves. I didn't really read any angel books, so I wasn't really in tune with what they were "supposed to be like." I think, like people, there's good and bad in even angels and demons and I love exploring those gray areas they're put in.

3. How long did it take you to write A Touch Mortal?

About six weeks for the first 60k and then I hit a horrible wall. It took about six months to figure out what was wrong (Az and Gabe had no chapters in the book) and fix it. Then I had a revision just before the book was purchased where I wrote the first 140 pages. So...kind of a hard question lol

4. If you could meet any author (dead or alive) and have lunch with them, who would it be?

I think Libba Bray would make for a fun lunch buddy!

5. You have a variety of creatures in you novel (Siders, Fallen, and Angels). What side are you on?
The winning side, hopefully! *winks*

6. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Work hard. Rewrite. Always strive to be better than the last draft!

7. What are you working on now? Can you tell us about it?

Favorite Book:House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Thank you so much for joining me today, Leah!  If you loved her interview as much as I did, you definitely need to check out Leah Clifford.  You can find her website HERE.  If anything, you must follow her on Twitter, because she is awesome.  Follow away HERE.  And if you have no clue what I've been raving on about all week, you need to get yourself a copy of her book.  Go check out what A Touch Mortal is about HERE and read my review HERE.  I know you will just love it!

I grew up in the small town of Seymour, Indiana. Although I’ve lived as far east (and south) as St. Augustine, Florida, and as far west as Longmont, Colorado, I now live about fifty miles from my hometown.

I’ve been writing nearly all of my life. When I was young, I lived with my grandmother and my older sister, but my mother lived in Chicago. I spent a lot of time writing her long, newsy letters about what was happening in my life. She would sometimes correct my spelling by return mail! (I learned to love being edited! lol!)

I also loved to write poetry and draw. I would design greeting cards and send them to my friends and relatives.

When I was sixteen, I moved to Chicago to live with my mother. I fell in love with Chicago, and have never fallen out of it! There is nothing quite like the thrumming heartbeat of a big city!

I have two lovely daughters, who are grown. They both live within five miles of me, and I like that a lot! When they were little, I used to make up stories for them. That was when I first starting thinking about writing for children. But, it wasn’t until they were out of the house that I began to take my writing seriously.
I love writing young adult novels. XVI is dystopian fiction, but I am also working on some fantasy and some contemporary themes. Too many ideas, too little time! --Bio

2. When did you first start writing?

Answer: I've been writing since I was little, however, it wasn't until my own kids were young that I began to take my writing seriously.

4. Where do you like writing? Where do you like reading?

Answer: Right now I'm stretched out on my sofa, writing on my laptop. I write there, at the dining room table, at my desk, and in bed. I'm a writer in many places! And as far as reading goes - there isn't anyplace I consider off-limits when it comes to reading!
5. If you were to describe your novel in three words, what would they be?
Answer: feminist dystopian thriller

6. Who was your favorite character to create and write about?
Answer: Well, I love my main character, Nina. She just flowed out of my fingertips. And, maybe second to her was Pops. I love him!

7. What influenced you to write this book?

Answer: The ever-presence of the Media in our lives today and its influence on teens in particular. Also, the increasing amount of surveillance in cities around the world.
8. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?



10. If you could live in a fictional world, where would it be?

Sara Bennett Wealer

I grew up in Manhattan, Kansas ("The Little Apple"), where I sang with the show choir and wrote for my high school newspaper. I majored in voice at the University of Kansas before deciding I had no business trying to make a living as an opera singing. I now make my living as a writer. You can learn more about me at my website: http://www.sarabennettwealer.com/ --Goodreads

1. If your book became a movie, who would you cast as Kathyrn? Who would you cast as Brooke?
I've got a daughter who's the target age for Disney channel fare, so we watch a lot of it and those are the actors I'm most familiar with these days. I think Bridgit Mendler would make a nice Brooke (http://www.fanpop.com/spots/bridgit-mendler/images/8972744/title/bridgit-photo). For Kathryn, maybe Miranda Cosgrove or Naomi Scott (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4305463/). I know all three of those girls can sing - not sure if they do opera, though. Perhaps the movie version of RIVAL could be about pop singing instead.

3. How long did it take for you to go through the writing process of your novel, Rival?


4. If you were to describe your novel in three words, what would they be?

Former friends compete!

5. Brooke and her friends did some mean things to Kathryn. According to your FAQ's, you had a high school rival, what was the meanest thing your rival ever did to you?

Nothing as dramatic as what happens in my book! I actually had a few rivals, and it was more about being hyper-aware of the other person, having a hard time being in the same room, gossip, etc. I remember one girl spit in my face, in ballet class, for no apparent reason. I think she just wanted to see what would happen. It was totally bizarre. That's probably the meanest thing anybody ever did. To be fair, I dished out my fair share of mean girl-ness, too.

6. Even some of our favorite novels have received rejection letters during the publishing process. Did you receive any and if so how many?

Wow, I didn't even count how many rejections I got. That would be too depressing. Let's just say I got a lot.

7. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
If you want to hear more about Sara Bennett Wealer, go HERE.  Loved her voice?  Check her blog out HERE.  Don't forget to follow her tweets on Twitter. 

Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 15th 2011
Pages: 336
Source: library
Buy It: Amazon / Borders / Barnes & Noble

What if your worst enemy turned out to be the best friend you ever had?

Meet Brooke: Popular, powerful and hating every minute of it, she’s the “It” girl at Douglas High in Lake Champion, Minnesota. Her real ambition? Using her operatic mezzo as a ticket back to NYC, where her family lived before her dad ran off with an up and coming male movie star.

Now meet Kathryn: An overachieving soprano with an underachieving savings account, she’s been a leper ever since Brooke punched her at a party junior year. For Kath, music is the key to a much-needed college scholarship.

The stage is set for a high-stakes duet between the two seniors as they prepare for the prestigious Blackmore competition. Brooke and Kathryn work toward the Blackmore with eyes not just on first prize but on one another, each still stinging from a past that started with friendship and ended in betrayal. With competition day nearing, Brooke dreams of escaping the in-crowd for life as a professional singer, but her scheming BFF Chloe has other plans. And when Kathryn gets an unlikely invitation to Homecoming, she suspects Brooke of trying to sabotage her with one last public humiliation.

As pressures mount, Brooke starts to sense that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had. But Kathryn has a decision to make. Can she forgive? Or are some rivalries for life? --Goodreads

Do you have a rival? Kathryn does—her name is Brooke. They used to be best friends, but after Brooke punched Kathryn over a big misunderstanding they have been rivals ever since. Always fighting their vocal cords to be the best in choir. Always to hold their heads high and try not to notice the other. But when they are both chosen for the Blackmore, a singing competition, things start to heat up once more. Now they are fighting against each other for a prize much greater than outshining each other in high school. The Blackmore is a big deal. With the constant stress of the competition, will this rivalry make them stronger or just tear them apart?

I loved, loved, loved this book! Rival is a masterpiece filled with notes higher than I can even start to imagine singing. Yes, this book circles around two girls who sing in choir—they take singing very seriously.

Kathryn is the quiet, yet beautiful girl who doesn’t have many friends, but is still able to get most of the solos in choir. She was the character I could relate to the most. She was kind and overall a wonderful friend, despite the mess-up that started it all. Her best friend, Matt was the ultimate geek. He played video games and spent most of the novel watching The Lord of the Rings movies (I love him already). If you don’t have a friend like Matt, go out and get yourself one right now because his geek-iness brightened my day. Now Brooke seemed to be the complete opposite of Kathryn, except for the small similarity of them both liking to sing. She was the cliché, the popular one, the one whose rich daddy didn’t have time for anymore. Her character was exact and perfectly drawn that even though she was a bit of a cliché, I still loved Brooke.

The structure of the book was fantastic. Each chapter would switch perspectives of either Brooke or Kathryn. This helped the story grow brighter and clearer than if there had only been one perspective. Wealer would begin to almost sing through some of the chapters. Her voice was lovely and kept my interest throughout the entire book.

There was a lesson learned here, by the end. Not all books execute their lessons well but Wealer brought this unique story together by creating well-developed characters that you will not forget.

If you are hesitant of reading this novel, don’t be. It’s a mix of American Idol meets Mean Girls. It’s a fantastic twist on friends that turns into rivals, walking away from one another even stronger than before.

First Sentence:

"I saw an old commercial once where famous singers used their voices to shatter glass."

-Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer, p. 2

Rating:

Characters: 3
Cover: 5
Plot: 4
Ending: 4
Writing Style: 5

So, it's Sunday and everyone knows what that means. In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. The people who participate in the meme are to post what they have received in the "mail" for that week. Here's what I got this week:

This year, Gina and I are participating in some reading challenges! Challenges are awesome because it gives the challenge hoster and the participants a good opportunity to find new books for different genres and themes or re-connect with old favorites.

For 2011, I am participating in a couple of challenges;

Escape Between the Pages is hosting a Highlander Reading Challenge. The goal is to read and review 20 sexy highlander novels in the year 2011. The books can be ones published in any year and be cross-overs with time travel, paranormal, and other themes. You can also cross read and review with other challenges.





Steampunkery & Book Reviews is hosting a Morbid Romantica Challenge. The aim of this challenge is to pick a level of romantica, I'm shooting for Morbid, and see how many books from the 12 themes you have to read. Each month has a pre-assigned theme, but if you find it hard to find enough books, there are additional themes that you can use in place. January's theme is Nephilim.



The Book Junkies Bookshelf is hosting a Support Your Local Library Challenge. Though Gina prefers to buy her books, I love going to the library to scrounge around for new books. Also, I work there... that's a perk when you can get your hands on the unreleased books, weeks early. I haven't settled on a sure-fire level yet, but I'm assuming it'll be the "Mega Size" level at 51+ books, since I'm there all the time raiding the shelves.

Gina is also doing a couple of challenges;



The Story Siren is hosting a Debut Author Challenge. This challenge highlights the work of debut authors of 2011. The goal is two read 12 books, and Gina has already picked the books she plans to read. You can check out her picks on our 2011 Challenge Page!



BA Reading Challenges is hosting an Off the Shelf! reading challenge. This challenge is to read books you own, but never got a chance to get around to. Gina is going for the "Making a Dint" level with 30 unread books amassing her bookshelf.



Also, Gina and I are doing a just for fun challenge from 2 Read or Not 2 Read. The challenge is to read a Harry Potter book each month of 2011 from January-July. Though we've both already read the series, it'll be fun to re-read it because it was such a good series.

If you want to see some of the books we've already picked out for the challenges, head on over to our 2011 Challenge page.

What challenges are you doing this year?

•Anyone can join. You don't have to be a blogger, and you don't have to live in the United States.

•You do not have to have an blog written in English to participate.

•You can join at anytime. The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

Qualifying books:

•Books must be a Young Adult or Middle Grade novel.

•DO NOTE: Just because a book has a teen character or is about a teen, does not mean that it is necessarily a Young Adult novel.

•This must be the authors debut with a release date in 2011.

•If an author has a previous novel published under adult fiction/nonfiction or children's fiction/nonfiction, they can still qualify for the challenge if they are releasing their YA or MG debut.

Go here for more details and here to sign up.