Sunday, August 4, 2019

Book Review - The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong

Photo Credit - Amazon

Twenty-six-year-old Yu-jin wakes up to a strange smell and a phone call from his brother asking if everything is okay because he had a missed call from their mother. Yi-jin shortly discovers her murdered body in their apartment and he is covered with her blood. Yu-jin suffers from seizures his most of his life and has trouble with his memory. He recalls his mother calling his name but, he is unsure why she was calling his name. Yi-jin begins to uncover what happened that night and he learns the truth about himself and his family.

The novel was a suspenseful read but, a few parts were a bit slow. I was surprised at the ending but,  I wondered if there was more that could have been done with the story. Overall, it was an interesting take on the mind of a psychopath and I would read more books by the author.

 **Disclosure -  This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Friday, August 2, 2019

Book Review - Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Noah never gets things his way. He and his best friend Walt got cut from the high school baseball team for the third time. Sam, Noah's love interest, who Noah has loved since third grade doesn't seem to notice the way he feels about her. However, he is afraid he could never get past the "best friend" zone.  Noah just wants to take it easy for his last year but, Walt has big plans for their senior year.

Walt introduces Noah to a few sources to glean information on wooing Sam. He is hesitant to but, when he finds a stack of old love letters, he decides to follow his heart and tell Sam. He uses inspiration from the letters and Jazz to craft anonymous love letters in an attempt to win her heart.

Oh, where did I do begin? I was never a fan of poetry but, I can't believe how enjoyable I found the novel. It was a beautiful treat from the beginning to the end. I must say, I didn't expect the novel to end the way it did. I can't wait to read more books by the author.


 **Disclosure - I received a free  copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**


Swing by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess
Publisher: BLINK
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Genres: Young Adult Fiction -- Poetry, Realistic Fiction, Sports

SYNOPSIS:
Things usually do not go as planned for seventeen-year-old Noah. He and his best friend Walt (aka Swing) have been cut from the high school baseball team for the third year in a row, and it looks like Noah’s love interest since third grade, Sam, will never take it past the “best friend” zone. Noah would love to retire his bat and accept the status quo, but Walt has big plans for them both, which include making the best baseball comeback ever, getting the girl, and finally finding cool.

To go from lovelorn to ladies’ men, Walt introduces Noah to a relationship guru—his Dairy Queen-employed cousin, Floyd—and the always informative Woohoo Woman Podcast. Noah is reluctant, but decides fate may be intervening when he discovers more than just his mom’s birthday gift at the thrift shop. Inside the vintage Keepall is a gold mine of love letters from the 1960s. Walt is sure these letters and the podcasts are just what Noah needs to communicate his true feelings to Sam. To Noah, the letters are more: an initiation to the curious rhythms of love and jazz, as well as a way for him and Walt to embrace their own kind of cool. While Walt is hitting balls out of the park and catching the eye of the baseball coach, Noah composes anonymous love letters to Sam in an attempt to write his way into her heart. But as things are looking up for Noah and Walt, a chain of events alters everything Noah knows to be true about love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.

In Swing, bestselling authors Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (Solo) present a free-verse poetic story that will speak to anyone who’s struggled to find their voice and take a swing at life.

BOOK LINKS:
Amazon – https://amzn.to/31yNtc0

AUTHOR INFO:

Kwame Alexander:


Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and New York Times Bestselling author of 21 books, including THE CROSSOVER, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American literature for Children, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Passaic Poetry Prize. Kwame writes for children of all ages. His other works include SURF'S UP, a picture book; BOOKED, a middle grade novel; and He Said She Said, a YA novel.

Kwame believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people through his PAGE TO STAGE Writing and Publishing Program released by Scholastic. A regular speaker at colleges and conferences in the U.S., he also travels the world planting seeds of literary love (Singapore, Brazil, Italy, France, Shanghai, etc.). Recently, Alexander led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an International literacy program he co-founded.

Links:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/kwamealexander

Mary Rand Hess:

Mary Rand Hess is a poet, screenwriter, mixed-media artist, and New York Times bestselling author of notable and award-winning books such as Solo and Swing(Blink YA), coauthored with Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander, Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures (National Geographic Children’s Books), also coauthored with Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido, Little Larry Goes to School (National Geographic Children’s Books), written with renowned photographer and filmmaker, Gerry Ellis, and the forthcoming picture book, The One and Only Wolfgang: From Pet Rescue to One Big Happy Family, coauthored with Steve Greig of @wolfgang2242 Instagram fame. She is currently at work on a few novels in verse, picture books, and screenplays.

Links:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/maryrandhess?lang=en
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/maryrandhess/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/maryrandtharringtonhess




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Thursday, August 1, 2019

Book Review - Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

Andie is addicted to movies, especially romance movies. She is the type of person who has the perfect thing to say, only after the moment has passed. However, she is yet to experience her first kiss but, she wants it to be special. When her family moved to Punxsutawney, PA, for her senior year, she hopes that will meet her true love. Her plans are abandoned when she is caught in an endless loop of her first day at her new school. She keeps reliving the day over and over until she can find a way to break the loop. As she continues on her search for her true love, she spends time with the various cliques and learns that not everything is what it seems. Will Andie be able to find her true love?

Ever read the saying "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results"? I thought this novel was going to be repetitive to the point of tears and boredom. I was pleasantly surprised how fun it was to read especially when Andie kept trying different combinations to find her "perfect ending". I did cringe on a few things that she did because she knew that the day would be repeated. However, it was a fun and delightful read. I can't wait to read more from the author.

 **Disclosure - I received a free  copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**


Pretty In Punxsutawney
by Laurie Boyle Crompton
Publisher: Blink
Release date: January 22, 2019
Genre: Young Adult -- Contemporary, Romance

A mashup of Groundhog Day and Pretty in Pink, the book stars a senior who is forced to relive the first day at her new school in an endless loop. Andie is convinced she needs true love's kiss to break the curse, but instead discovers how a high school filled with cliques and misfits can find common ground despite everyone's differences.

BOOK LINKS


ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Laurie Boyle Crompton is the YA author of the upcoming PRETTY IN PUNXSUTAWNEY (Blink/HarperCollins 2019) as well as ADRENALINE CRUSH (Macmillan/2014, Square Fish/2016), BLAZE (or Love in the Time of Supervillains), THE REAL PROM QUEENS OF WESTFIELD HIGH and LOVE AND VANDALISM (Sourcebooks/2013, 2014, 2017). Growing up in ‘Pennsyltucky’ in the 1980s, Laurie couldn't wait to escape rural life. After saving up her tips from waitressing at a local greasy spoon at 18 she packed up her acid wash jeans and moved to NY. Where everyone else had stopped wearing acid wash.

She graduated first in her class from St. John’s University with a BA in English and Journalism. Since then she’s written for national magazines like ALLURE, survived a teaching stint at an all-boy high school, and appeared on Good Day New York several times as a Toy Expert. And yes, ‘toy expert’ is an actual profession. Really.

She has lived in places like Orlando, Florida where she and her husband spent all of their spare time and money visiting theme parks before moving to the Cotswolds in England for six months, which was every bit as cool as that sounds. The Cromptons are now back in New York where their two children resent never going to Disney.

Laurie occasionally enjoys hanging out in fields of blooming flowers and also refering to herself in the third person.

Links:
Website: https://www.lboylecrompton.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lbcrompton
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lbcrompton/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurie.b.crompton


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