(Blog Tour) Book Review: OyMG

TITLE: OyMG
AUTHOR: Amy Fellner Dominy
IMPRINT: Walker and Company
PUBLICATION DATE: 10 May 2011
PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: Standalone

Jewish girl. Christian camp. Holy moly.

Ellie Taylor loves nothing better than a good argument. So when she gets accepted to the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp, she's sure that if she wins the final tournament, it'll be her ticket to a scholarship to the best speech school in the country. Unfortunately, the competition at CSSPA is hot-literally. His name is Devon and, whether she likes it or not, being near him makes her sizzle. Luckily she's confident enough to take on the challenge-until she begins to suspect that the private scholarship's benefactor has negative feelings toward Jews. Will hiding her true identity and heritage be worth a shot at her dream?

Debut author Amy Fellner Dominy mixes sweet romance, surprising secrets, and even some matzo ball soup to cook up a funny yet heartfelt story about an outspoken girl who must learn to speak out for herself.


OyMG description and cover art courtesy of Goodreads.
The OyMG Blog Tour was arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE.

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THE TWEET
OyMG is a funny and heartwarming story of a young woman finding out what is really important to her while holding on to her true identity.

WHAT WORKED
The thing I liked most about OyMG is that, despite the storyline being about a Jewish girl at a Christian camp, that's not the whole story. The story, in fact, is about a confident, smart and competitive young woman who isn't afraid to go after what she wants. The heart of OyMG deals with Ellie trying to hold on to her (religious and personal) identity and sense of self, while also fitting in at the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp, where she is competing for a scholarship to the prestigious speech school.

I was very impressed with the character development in OyMG. Ellie is a amusing and brilliant young woman.  As a reader, I was able to connect to her personality, as well as her determination to get what she wanted, even if it meant hiding an important part of her sense of self from others. I also loved the character of her Zeydeh (grandfather).  Ellie's interaction with her family, especially her grandfather, is a refreshing change from some of the recent family dynamics I have encountered in young adult fiction.

I know some readers may have reservations about OyMG because of the religious aspect, but rest assured, it's not a big deal. Dominy was able to convey beliefs and traditions without being preachy. OyMG is a funny, heartwarming story that will make readers laugh and comiserate with Ellie in equal measure.

OVERALL
Amy Fellner Dominy has written a great contemporary novel with an engaging storyline and characters. Even though I am not Jewish, I was able to relate to Ellie's plight and her conflict between wanting to win the scholarship and speaking up for herself and her beliefs.


MY RATING IS

Click HERE to purchase OyMG from The Book Depository.

For more information on Amy Fellner Dominy and OyMG, visit:
WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

(ARC) Book Review: BORN AT MIDNIGHT

TITLE: BORN AT MIDNIGHT (SHADOW FALLS #1)
AUTHOR: C. C. Hunter
IMPRINT: St. Martin's Griffin
PUBLICATION DATE: 29 March 2011
PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: None

Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

BORN AT MIDNIGHT (SHADOW FALLS #1) description and cover art courtesy of Goodreads.

I received an ARC of BORN AT MIDNIGHT from Different Area Codes Book Tour.

THE TWEET
BORN AT MIDNIGHT is a character rich story of a teen girl, struggling to find her true self and on the way develops unforgettable friends.

WHAT WORKED
As I mentioned above, what stands out the most when reading BORN AT MIDNIGHT are the incredible relationships that Kylie develops at Shadow Falls camp. I loved how C.C. Hunter developed the friendship between Kylie, Della and Miranda. And despite my dislike of romantic triangles, I really liked how Hunter created the relationships between Kylie and Derek and Kylie and Lucas. I especially liked the past relationship Kylie had with Lucas. It made the romantic angle between them have a deeper emotional feel, especially considering that their past encounters were not romance based. I felt Kylie had to overcome more to create an attachment with Lucas, so that when she did, I was able to see the development of both their characters and how their feelings changed from the start of the book.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK
The one part of the book I didn't like was the pregnancy scare with Sara, one of Kylie's friends from her hometown. It seemed like an unnecessary subplot that was thrown in to have Kylie retain some tie to her former life.

OVERALL
BORN AT MIDNIGHT is a great start to the SHADOW FALLS series. I look forward to reading more about Kylie and the other characters introduced in BORN AT MIDNIGHT.

MY RATING IS

Click here to purchase BORN AT MIDNIGHT (SHADOW FALLS #1) from The Book Depository.




 

Book Review: ENTANGLED

TITLE: ENTANGLED
AUTHOR: Cat Clarke
IMPRINT: Quercus Publishing Plc
PUBLICATION DATE: 6 January 2011
PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: None

The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

A story of dark secrets, intense friendship and electrifying attraction.

ENTANGLED description and cover art courtesy of Goodreads.

I received an ARC of ENTANGLED from Star Book Tours.

THE TWEET
Grace has woken up in a white room with nothing but paper & pens. Get ENTANGLED as Grace relives her past & tries to figure out her future.

WHAT WORKED
I loved Grace's personality in ENTANGLED. She was snarky and had a fantastic sense of humor, despite the circumstances she was in. She narrates her story with a strong and independent voice that really resonated with me. As Grace told her story, I could imagine myself in her place, experiencing the same feelings she did.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK
I didn't love the beginning of the story. To be honest, it was too vague for me. I was very tempted to put the book down, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. I guess I'm just one of those people who always has to know the details of everything and the fact that I didn't know what was going on and where Grace was bothered me.

OVERALL
ENTANGLED is a not a happy story. While there is hope at the ending of the book, the rest is depressing and sad, but so very REAL. Author Cat Clarke has perfectly captured the voice of a teenage girl and put it into ENTANGLED.

MY RATING IS

Click here to purchase ENTANGLED from The Book Depository.

2011 Debut Author Challenge

The new year has rolled around and that means another Debut Author Challenge hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren. I participated last year, and while I did not review all the books I had chosen, I did make the minimum required to participate. So I'm proud of myself for that, especially since I didn't join until August 2010. And I'm excited to participate again this year.

What is the 2011 Debut Author Challenge?

The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year. The minimum number is 12, but there is no maximum! Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your reviews by posting on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, GoodReads, or any other bookish site. The challenge will run from January 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011. You can join at anytime!

For more information on the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, please visit The Story Siren.

My 2011 Debut Author Book Choices

These are the books I have chosen to read and review. Once I finish and review a book, you will be able to click on the title of the book to link to my review.

1. XVI by Julia Karr
2. BAD TASTE IN BOYS by Carrie Harris
3. BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. by Medeia Sharif
4. BLOOD MAGIC by Tessa Gratton
5. BORN AT MIDNIGHT (SHADOW FALLS #1) by C.C. Hunter
6. CLARITY by Kim Harrington
7. DARKNESS BECOMES HER (GODS AND MONSTERS #1) by Kelly Keaton
8. DARK PARTIES by Sara Grant
9. DIE FOR ME (REVENANTS #1) by Amy Plum
10. DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth
11. ENTANGLED by Cat Clarke
12. FALLING UNDER by Gwen Hayes
13. HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire
14. THE IRON THORN (IRON CODEX #1) by Caitlin Kittredge
15. THE IRON WITCH (THE IRON WITCH SAGA #1) by Karen Mahoney
16. LUMINOUS by Dawn Metcalf
17. THE NEAR WITCH by Victoria Schwab
18. OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy
19. POSSESSION by Elana Johnson
20. STARCROSSED (STARCROSSED #1) by Josephine Angelini
21. STUPID FAST by Geoff Herbach
22. VESPER (DEVIANTS #1) by Jeff Sampson
23. WAKE UNTO ME by Lisa Cach
24. WITHER (CHEMICAL GARDEN #1) by Lauren DeStefano
25. WILDEFIRE by Karsten Knight