Looking Forward To...

Ninety-five days, and then I’ll be safe.

I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.

I want to get it over with.

It’s hard to be patient.

It’s hard not to be afraid while I’m still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn’t touched me yet.

Still, I worry.

They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.

The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.

Lauren Oliver astonished readers with her stunning debut, Before I Fall. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called it “raw, emotional, and, at times, beautiful. An end as brave as it is heartbreaking.” Her much-awaited second novel fulfills her promise as an exceptionally talented and versatile writer. -Barnes and Noble

I've recently started on what I believe will be one of the most beautiful new series' of 2011. Delirium starts off with five cups of Earl Grey simply because it incorporates love and dystopian literature. Is not, "It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure," one of the greatest opening lines? Lauren Oliver is such a lovely writer, I adore the writing style! I can't wait to see how it unfolds, and I'm even more delighted to know that it's the first of a series. Also, this is my first hardcover since purchasing my Kippa, and it is STUNNING. Seriously, I spent and entire week just staring at it on my glass table! It's one of those books to save and show off in your bookcase.  So far, Lauren Oliver is a genius in my book!

Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.

Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?

Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . . 

Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . . 

From debut author Jillian Larkin, VIXEN is the first novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . when anything goes.          - Barnes and Noble              

I discovered The Flappers Series a few weeks ago, and I'm excited to start on this. I find the Roaring 20's to be such an intriguing era, yet it also seems to be one of the more overlooked era's in terms of YA Fiction. High society, Short bobs and finger waves, silent films, cupids bow lips, parties in vintage Chicago and Jazz...sounds good to me! It will be my first time reading a novel involving loads of Gossip Girl-esque drama (and normally, I run away from such books), but Jillian Larkin seems to have captured something special. I hope to have an awesome review up for this series very soon!

What books are you looking forward to reading (new or old)?

The Spark of 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green

I've climbed onto the John Green bandwagon pretty late in the game. His latest novel, The Fault in Our Stars, is stirring up a load of excitement within the 'bibliophiliac' community! It jumped to number 1 on Barnes & Noble and Amazon bestseller lists shortly after Green's announcement of this forthcoming novel. I'm not sure I've ever experienced such anticipation for a novel that has little information about it.  The title, however, is enough to cause me to stop and ponder on it's meaning. Green did fill us in on it's partial inspiration which is a line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "'The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.'" After some scouring of the net (And I mean, purposeful searching), I found out that the novel will be about a young woman who's suffering from terminal cancer and is forced by her parents to attend a support group. The allure is made even more plausible with John Green's promise to autograph every copy of its first printing. It's a bit of an enigma, but I'll admit that even I would like my chance to purchase one of the autographed copies, just to say that I have a piece of John Green national treasure.

Although, I haven't finished Green's previous novel,  Looking For Alaska, I did get the feeling that it is easily a YA classic! It contains wonderful writing and musings about life, love, and harder challenges. One of my favorite quotes about life is: "...He was this poet. And his last words were 'I go to seek a Great Perhaps.' That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps." It actually encouraged me to go on to Wales to take on Grad School! Alaska seems one of those profound characters that will stick with you! One classic quote that made me love her was: "Her library filled her bookshelves and then overflowed into waist-high stakes of books everywhere, piled haphazardly against walls. If just one of them moved, I thought, the domino effect could engulf the three of us in an asphyxiating mass of literature." I also purchased, An Abundance of Katherines, because it seems a quite clever and thoughtful read. I've heard that Green includes graphs and charts within it. What's more fun than a novel with little scavenger hunts? That's what I call boss-like ingenuity!

While fans wait patiently for their signed copies of The Fault in Our Stars, a few have decided to use their creativity to create novel covers! John Green proudly showcases these fan-made masterpieces on his Tumblr dedicated to them. Here are a few of my favorites:

Thanks to fan enthusiasm, I am now looking forward to The Fault in Our Stars! I'm still trying to figure out whether I should pick me up a one of a kind John Green treasure. His charisma, wit, and undeniable 'nerdigems' will keep drawing me!

Have you read John Green's work? What are your favorites, and are you looking forward to The Fault in Our Stars?

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