That's right, with Google Reader's imminent demise, I've FINALLY decided to move Squeaky Books onto Facebook. I have resisted for a long time (6 years, to be exact), but now that the media is saying that Facebook might actually be dying I decided to jump on board.

And to celebrate, I'm having a giveaway! It's just a little incentive to motivate ya'll to like the page, no pressure!

You can win your choice of either an ARC of Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo or a $10 Amazon.com gift card! The amazon gift card is international (sorry! No TBD). Enter using the rafflecopter! You can also click here to go directly to the page!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hey y'all, I know I haven't been super-duper active recently, even after I said I would. The truth is two-fold: 1) spring term and crazy job situations have melted my brain, and 2) I've actually started reading less and doing... other things?

What other things, you ask? Well, it's a little strange actually. After my Halloween adventures in costume making I kind of became... obsessed. And if you're going to dress up like random characters, watching anime just kind of comes with the territory. I didn't do anything like this as a kid or teen, and so all of the floodgates have opened. I know it's weird. Believe me. I know.

SO, that brings me to my question: I hopefully post more often when spring term ends (one more week!) and my friends move back home (so lonely, need books!). But, I would DEFINITELY post more often if I were to post about some of the new things I'm into. BUT, those aren't exactly book related.

So if you wouldn't mind taking a couple seconds to take this little survey. I'd be much obliged. Please be honest. This may be MY blog, but I do it for YOU readers. I will listen to you, promise!

Revealed today was ANOTHER super-secret project from Shannon! This one looks SOOO cute! At first the idea of her partnering with Mattel turned me off (anyone else remember the barbie Princess Academy thing?) but after reading about it I am 100% on board!

Click the image for Shanon's post and more details!

I dunno if I can handle all the Shannon Hale awesomeness happening in the next couple years. My heart may explode!

Release Date: February 26th, 2013
Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopia
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 384
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

The year is 2051, and the world is still recognizable. With the help of her mysterious classmate Dylan Gilmore, Faith Daniels discovers that she can move objects with her mind. This telekinetic ability is called a “pulse,” and Dylan has the talent, too.

In riveting action scenes, Faith demonstrates her ability to use her pulse against a group of telekinesis masters so powerful they will flatten their enemies by uprooting street lights, moving boulders, and changing the course of a hurtling hammer so that it becomes a deadly weapon. But even with great talent, the mind—and the heart—can be difficult to control. If Faith wants to join forces with Dylan and save the world, she’ll have to harness the power of both.

Blurb: Is this a movie, or a book? And no, that's not a good thing.

Review: Sorry to be posting so many "didn't love it" reviews lately, but... I didn't love this book. And if I had read that plot summary before I started reading, I probably would guessed that I wouldn't like this book before I even read it. Any book that feels the need to put "in riveting action scenes" in their summary... probably isn't for me.

It wasn't that it wasn't a good story, it had a lot of potential. But I felt like I was reading a movie screenplay with how bluntly descriptive it was. I never really knew what was happening in the world because the author left this so vague. I think that can work for a movie, because while the main characters are talking on the screen you can see the world around them and make your own assumptions. But in a book... all you have is what is written on the page, and it wasn't enough in this one.

I felt like this would translate really well into a movie, but left my brain feeling tired by how much I had to infer. Because of this abrupt and blunt way of describing both characters and actions, I never really felt like I connected with any of the characters or story. Because of this, I have no desire to go on and read any other books in this series.

Other Reviews:

• Curling Up With a Good Book (Loved it!)
• A Life Bound By Books (It was okay)
• BookNook (Didn't Like It.)

*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.

Release Date: April 16th, 2013
Genre: Romance, Sci-fi, Dystopia
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 408
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Blurb: If you don't buy into the premise, this is just a contemporary romance.

Review: The gist of this book is that teens can be "infected" with depression. And so many of them are being "infected" that they are committing suicide in droves. I think it said 1 in 3 teens committed suicide. That sounds like a really cool premise, except that... I didn't buy it.

The world of this book is SO DEPRESSING. All adults are so paranoid about the kids getting depressed that the teens can't display any emotion (even extreme happiness is frowned upon), can't disagree with anyone, and essentially they don't have any individualism. Who wouldn't be depressed in a world like that? If I had to keep such a tight leash on myself all the time I can actually see why suicide might seem like a viable option.

My best friend suffers from depression. And she's told me before that she knew she didn't have anything to be sad about, but she was still sad. Perhaps if the author had started earlier in the "epidemic" history. If we had seen teens who really did have nothing "wrong" with their lives get depressed and commit suicide in large amounts. But that's not what I saw. I saw teens in a crappy world with only one way out.

Because of this, everything else that happened in the book just seemed like a contemporary story. This was another one of those books where a good portion of it was told in flashbacks, and those flashbacks didn't have anything sci-fi or dystopian about them. I don't like contemporary romance. I find it dull. And yet when we would come out of the flashbacks we would get just enough of a glimpse into the sci-fi aspects of the book that I kept reading.

I didn't hate this book, but I was far from loving it. If there are more in the series I will not be reading them because I feel like there isn't enough sci-fi stuff to carry the story, and I don't care about the romance.

Other Reviews:

• Katie's Book Blog (Loved it!)
• Xpresso Reads (It was okay)
• Birth of a New Witch (REALLY Didn't Like It. WARNING has some strong language!)

*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.