November Book Club Pick

November's Book Club pick will be:

The Predicteds by Christine Seifert

Your future is not your own...

"We wanted to know what makes a good kid good and a bad kid bad. Can you blame us for that? We found an astoundingly, marvelously simple answer: The brain isn't so much a complicated machine as it is a crystal ball. If you look into it, you will see everything you want to know."
-Dr. Mark Miliken, senior researcher at Utopia Laboratories

Who will it be?

 Will the head cheerleader get pregnant?

 Is the student council president a secret drug addict?

The whole school is freaking out about PROFILE, an experimental program that can predict students' future behavior.

The only question Daphne wants answered is whether Jesse will ask her out...but he's a Predicted, and there's something about his future he's not telling her.

So I was at my local Sam's Club last week picking up some Halloween candy (among other things) when I stumbled across this book while perusing the novels--something I always do at Sam's Club because they generally have the best deals on books. Even better than Amazon, mostly. I was immediately intrigued by not only the cover but also by the very brief, somewhat vague blurb on the back of the book. Since it was only $6.50, I decided to pick it up and give it a shot. That afternoon, I read a bit more about it on Amazon and Goodreads, and I'm very intrigued. From what I've read about it, it's not as "Dystopian" as it sounds, which may work well for me since I'm quite picky about my Dystopian novels. I decided that I really wanted to read this for Book Club this month, so I hope you are all able to find a copy. Check your local stores. Some might carry it for cheaper than you're able to find it online. Hope you enjoy! The review for this book will be posted on Tuesday, November 29th. Can't wait to here what you all think!

Happy Reading!



October Book Club

For those of you who have been "out of the loop", or just haven't heard about it yet, I have started a book club here on Reading for Refuge. Each month I've picked a book, and you have the whole month to read it. Since I post on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will post my review of the book club pick on the last Tuesday or Thursday of the month, depending on where it lands--example: October's review will be up on Thursday, October 27th since it's the last posting day of the month. Anyway, the purpose of having a book club is so we can read the same book at the same time and get feedback from everyone about the pick. It makes things a little more "interactive", I suppose. That's the plan anyway. 

Anyway, this month's pick is:

Graceling by Kristin Cashore 

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

 

I haven't read it yet, but I am going to start it here in a few days. I am so excited. I've heard great things about this book. Which is quite a relief since last month's pick was no good. (Sorry about that, by the way.) Anyway, enjoy and...

 

Happy Reading!

Don't Forget!

Just a reminder-- this month's book club pick is:

Here's what it's about:

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away... especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

I read this last week. I really hope you all get a chance to read it. My review for it will be up Thursday, September 29th. If you read it, please comment after I post the review so you can let me know what you thought! I'm so excited about this. :)

Happy Reading!

A Reading for Refuge Book Club!

I've decided to start a "book club" of sorts. Stay with me on this....

Every month I am going to list a specific book that I am going to read that month. At the end of the month, I will post my review of it. The books will be listed in the sidebar of Reading for Refuge so you will know what book is up for the month, and also what books I'll be reading soon. Then, if you decided to read it with me that month, you can leave a comment or email me what you thought of the book.

Also, if you have any recommendations of something I should read for one of the months' picks, leave a comment and let me know. I have books already picked, but that doesn't mean I won't change them if you have a better idea!

This could end up being totally lame. I don't know. I thought it might be a fun idea. I'll try it through the rest of the year, and if it bombs, I'll come up with some new and exciting, totally genius idea for 2012. :)

Until then, the first book I have picked will be our September read:

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away... especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

I am seriously, ridiculously, flippin' excited to read this. If you've even glanced at my blog this year, you know that my very favorite theme of 2011 has been mythology. I don't think anyone can come close to comparing to Aimee Carter's retelling of the "Persephone story" in The Goddess Test (my current favorite read of the entire year), but this book sounded so good that I couldn't pass it up. I've never read any of Meg Cabot's stuff, so I am really looking forward to it. I hope you all get a chance to read this in September so you can share your thoughts on it at the end of the month.

Happy Reading!