Currently on my shelf to read

I don’t know about some of you, but where I live in North Carolina there has been a ton of snow and ice. I have spent the past few nights curled up in bed or on my couch reading and though I am not close to finishing anything right now, I thought I would keep you all involved with everything I have checked out from the library.

Currently checked out on my library card are the following books/audiobooks:

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I very briefly talked about this book in my previous post about YA romance novels. I originally thought this book (the first in a series) was similar to the movie Titanic, except that it takes place in a galaxy and uses a luxury cruise space ship. All the signs are there. There is Lilac LaRoux, the daughter of a very wealthy man, and Tarver Merendsen, from more humble beginnings, flirting on the cruise ship. They know that their flirtations are not allowed because of the simple fact that they are in different social classes. Then disaster strikes and they are the last survivors of the cruise ship Icarus and are now trying to survive on a strange planet where their escape pod landed. That’s very similar wouldn't you say? However the more I read, the more I see the TV show Lost appearing in the story. There is a strange planet that no one knows about that potentially caused the crash, there are haunted whispers throughout the forests and mountains, and there are strange animals that do not match the environment that our protagonists are in (think of the polar bears on Lost). I am only halfway through the book, but so far I am enjoying it.

A Wrinkle in Time (Audiobook) by Madeleine L’Engle. This book was my husband’s favorite as a child. I had attempted to read it as an adult a few years ago, but I could not get into it. I see why he liked it. There are physics, space, and high fantasy. I thought it was a little too much fantasy for me personally, BUT I saw that my library has the audiobook and I decided to give it a try. We meet the Murry family who are saddened by the disappearance of their father, a physicist. Meg, the oldest, is having problems dealing in school and is constantly getting into trouble. It’s when her younger brother, Charles Wallace, finds company in three “ladies” (Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which) that we learn more about Meg’s father. He is trapped on a planet somewhere in the universe that is being controlled by “the Black Thing” and only Meg and Charles Wallace can save him.  Along with their new companion, Calvin O’Keefe, they race against time to save Meg’s father and protect the universe from the evil that is quickly consuming all of the planets. I am about halfway through and so far I love this book!

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore. Confession...I really like the reality competition show Top Chef. My husband has been a fan of the show longer than me. In fact he introduced me to it so we have eaten at a few of the contestants’ restaurants across the country. I saw a review of Taste Test in a copy of the School Library Journal and I couldn’t wait for us to get it. I am not too far in it at all, but the main protagonist is from a small town in North Carolina where she works in a barbeque restaurant with her father. The show, called Taste Test, wants her for their next season. This reality show is where teens go to a culinary school and compete for a scholarship to a world-renowned culinary academy. Of course, there is drama, mystery, and a twinge of romance, but again I am only 5 pages into it.

Wake by Lisa McMann.  This is the Michigan selection for my reading challenge. I have not started it at all, but will hopefully get to it by the end of the weekend. The premise of this novel is that a teenage girl, Janie, constantly gets sucked into other people’s dreams. She keeps this power a secret as no one would believe her if she told them and would just think she is crazy. She then gets sucked into a crazy nightmare where she is not watching, but participating. Looks like this one will be a great teen horror book to read? I don’t know, but it looks scary.

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. The Massachusetts selection from the reading challenge. This book seems to be a modern version of an ancient Greek myth (probably Helen of Troy). Helen (see!) is having strange dreams of a long journey as well as hallucinating three women who seem to be the Fates from Greek Mythology. She soon learns that these are not just dreams or legend, but in fact they are her ancestry. The question is should she fight against destiny?

Ones I am currently on the waitlist for

Insurgent (Audiobook) by Veronica Roth. I am so close to listening this one. There is a huge waitlist for everything in this series at my library. That being said, I am now #2 in line for audiobook! GAH!

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo. I got on the waitlist for this one as soon as the Newberry Award Winner and Honorable Mentions were announced.  I am #4 on the list.