Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday #56 + WWW Wednesday #26

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.
It's a weekly meme about upcoming books we're excited about!


The Young World
(The Young World #1)
by Chris Weitz
Publication Date: July 29, 2014

From Goodreads:

After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he's secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.

The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park. . . .and discovers truths they could never have imagined.

Why I'm Excited

I actually have an ARC of this book that (hopefully) I will have already read by the time this post goes up. But, it sounds interesting. Probably won't be very good, but it sounds interesting. Post-apocalyptic and dystopian is strangely addicting, even though I find little of it that I actually like.

Shipwreck Island
(Shipwreck Island #1)
by S. A. Bodeen
Publication Date: July 29, 2014

From Goodreads:

Sarah Robinson is deeply troubled in the wake of her dad's second marriage. She now has to deal with a new stepmom and two stepbrothers, Marco, who is her age, and Nacho, who's younger. Even though they've all moved from Texas to California to start life as a new, blended family, none of the kids seem remotely happy about it.

Sarah's dad and stepmom then decide to take the whole family on a special vacation in order to break the ice and have everyone get to know one another. They'll fly to Tahiti, charter a boat, and go sailing for a few days. It'll be an adventure, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

Why I'm Excited

Because stories involving people being stranded on island is always exciting. I've loved stories like that ever since I was a kid: Swiss Family Robinson, The Mysterious Island, Dinotopia, Treasure Island - you name it. I love shipwreck stories, though I can't exactly say why. I just do.

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading
What are you currently reading?

Before he knew about the Roses, sixteen-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great - until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirland part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing the Game - a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.

As if his bizarre heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirland - he's one of the last of the warriors - and a time when both houses are scouting for a player.

I'm not very far into this book, and it's mostly because I'm just not getting into it. I don't think it's a bad book - it's my mood. But, yeah, just having a hard time getting involved in this story. Hopefully that will change.

What have you read recently?

It's senior year at St. Joan's Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys' texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can't.

First it's the school's queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan's buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen - who's been reading The Crucible  for extra credit - comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago. . . .

I gave this 2/5 strawberries, which may or may not change. The premise was awesome! But the conclusion was really disappointing, and the story was overall rather slow. It had so much potential, but I left this book feeling disappointed.

What do you plan on reading next?

After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he's secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.


The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park. . . .and discovers truths they could never have imagined.

Another ARC, long overdue to be read, and another dystopian. Looking forward to delving into this one!

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