Haven Woods is suburban heaven, a great place to raise a family. It’s close to the city, quiet, with great schools and its own hospital right up the road. Property values are climbing. The streets are clean, people keep their yards really nicely. It’s fairly pet friendly, though barking dogs are not welcomed. The crime rate is practically non-existent, unless you count the odd human sacrifice, dismemberment, animal attack, demon rape and blood atonement. When Paula Wittmore goes home to Haven Woods to care for a suddenly ailing mother, she brings her daughter and a pile of emotional baggage. She also brings the last chance for twelve of her mother’s closest frenemies, who like to keep their numbers at thirteen. And her daughter, young, innocent, is a worthy gift to the darkness.

A circle of friends will support you through bad times. A circle of witches can drag you through hell.

Ah, what a delish read!

The Thirteen is the perfect combination of mystery, horror, paranormal and chick-lit. I mean, this book was kinda like Desperate Housewives on some major  ’shrooms.  It was fast-paced and juicy and scary and full of Holy shit moments. And it wasn’t a deep book, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned. This is the kind of book that you can get 100% wrapped up in, enjoying it simply for what it is: a Hell of a good read.

The whole time I was reading The Thirteen, I was picturing it as a movie. Moloney’s writing really made everything very vivid and the scenes just popped off the pages. The writing was witty and campy and there was just enough ew factor to make me happy. And I loved the whole everything is not what it seems angle. Kinda makes you look at your own neighbors a bit closer.

Thanks to the folks at Random House Canada for the review copy.

This reading challenge changes each month or so. And there are PRIZES! I mean, who doesn’t love free stuff, right? Random House Canada is the host of this one and the first reading challenge has to do with all things hist-fict.

Basically they have a list of historical fiction books on their website and the challenge is to read one from the list by February 29th(yay leap year!). I’m not a HUGE hist-fict reader, although I have already read one from the list and it made my best of 2011 list (The Virgin Cure). I’m not sure which book from the list I’m going to read. Here are the choices:

The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak (Available January 3. Check out the video trailer!)
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich
The Salt Road by Jane Johnson
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
Anything in the Outlander or Lord John series by Diana Gabaldon (If you haven’t met Jamie Fraser yet, are you ever in for a treat!

What say you, hist-fict fans? Which book should I read for this challenge?

So, reading challenges scare me. There, I’ve said it. As soon as I sign up I start to feel all panicky. I kinda suck at a reading schedule. In fact, I think I’ve only ever signed up for one challenge.  But this year I want to make some changes,not just here on the blog, but with my reading habits and life in general. And part of those changes involves signing up for – and finishing – reading challenges. And the fisrt one I’m signing up for is The 2012 TBR Pile Challenge.

So basically I have to pick twelve books that I’ve had for over a year and promise to read them before December 31st. And I also have two alternatives in case one or two of the twelve aren’t my cup of tea.

So here’s my list! As I read and review each one, I’ll pop back here and link to the review.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray
The Nine Lives of Travis Keating by Jill MacLean
Rattled by Lisa Harrington
Gone by Michael Grant
Nightingale’s Lament by Simon R. Green
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Monster by A. Lee Martinez
Away From Her by Alice Munro
The Shack by William P. Young
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon
Norse Code by Greg Van Eekhout

My alternatives
Leviathan by Scott Westerfield
Nevermore by Keith R.A. DeCandido

There you have it, folks. My books all picked out for the challenge. This will be interesting because anytime in the past I’ve set up a reading list, I’ve never followed it. Fingers crossed!

Here’s my top read of 2011, in no particular order. And I’m quite happy to see that the majority of them are by Canadian authors.

The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay –  So beautifully written. I loved Moth and her story and can’t wait to hear more.
Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts – This one was CREEPY! Reminded me a lot of Stephen King’s The Stand.
Betsy Wickwire’s Dirty Secret – This one had my favorite secondary character of the year, Dolores. And it was funny and quirky and I am in love with it.
Falling Backwards by Jann Arden – It’s Jann. In book form. What else can I say?
How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr – This one killed me in all the good ways a book should. My fave YA contempt read of the year and possibly forever.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin – This book blew me away with its writing, plot and genre- jumping. Just stunning.
Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari – From the opening scene, I was hooked. My favorite dystopian read if the year. (I liked it even better than The Hunger Games.)
The Canterbury Trail by Angie Abdou – I loved the characters in this one. And how they all intermingled, smooshed together by life.
Pluto’s Ghost by Sheree Fitch – The writing in the book blew my mind. Sheree captures free-flowing thought patterns like nobody else. Amazing.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan – I don’t even know how to begin to describe my love of this book. By far the weirdest (and possibly most honest) book I read all year.

Okay, those were in no particular order, like I said. But if I was forced to choose my favorite read of 2011? Well, it would be a tie between The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and Ashes, Ashes. Two kick ass books that kept me thinking about them long after I finished reading them.

Most of these books came my way as review copies, so a big thanks and a massive hug to all the publishers who sent them to me.

And that’s the list, folks! Happy New Year and happy reading!

Damien, a juvenile delinquent condemned as an accessory to murder.

Connor, an angry young man unable to get over the death of his father.

Three teenagers from different backgrounds, each suffering pain and loss, must now find strength, responsibility, and heroism they didn’t know they possessed when the worst disaster in American history, a 9.7 earthquake devastates the Pacific Northwest. Their struggle for survival will not only test their resolve; it will affect the lives of everyone around them.

Can they let go of their own personal issues and look beyond themselves before a massive tsunami destroys them all.

I LOVE disasters movies. Which really makes no sense, because I’m a pretty stressed person and if a disaster ever hit I’d probably curl up in bed with my stuffed frog and a shit-ton of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. But I’ll watch disaster movies until the cows come home. I love watching how people deal with horrific situations and how they come out on the other end, changed. For me Shaken was like a disaster movie in a book. It had all the elements that I love and then some.

I read Shaken in two sittings. It probably would have been devoured in one, except that I read it a few days before Christmas so I was a bit distracted with wrapping gifts and such. It was an intense read, what with the earthquake and all. But I just couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened to these three teens and others that were in the book.

The way Anderson described the earthquake, and what happens after, made me feel like I was watching it happen. I could feel the tension, the hope, the desperation as characters struggled to deal with the aftermath and trying to survive. My heart was pounding during certain scenes, breaking during others.

Now, I don’t want you to think that this was just an action book, because that’s so not the case. There was some nice character development in Shaken. I enjoyed watching the teens grow and realize who they really are. I felt for these characters and I cared what happened to them.

Shaken was just a great all around read. For fans of disaster movies, disaster books and just great YA books, I recommend Shaken.

Thanks to Echelon Press for the review copy.

Determined to avoid everyone and everything from her previous life, Betsy stumbles into an unusual café and an even more unusual girl. Dolores Morris—a mouthy, green-haired outsider Betsy can’t quite remember from school—talks her into starting a cleaning service. Before she knows it, Betsy is down on her knees, dressed like a dust bunny, scrubbing strangers’ toilets.

It’s a long way for the most popular girl in school to have fallen. But Betsy finds comfort in the wine bottles and prescriptions and other dirty secrets she finds hidden in her clients’ homes. She also finds love with a client’s son, friendship with Dolores and a liberated sense of herself. Her new life soon falls apart, though, when valuables begin to go missing from some of the homes she and Dolores have been cleaning. Betsy discovers the hard way that not all dirty secrets can just be swept under the rug.

Okay, it looks like I have to make room next to my Susan Juby and Susin Nielsen shines.  Cuz I have a new hilarious Canadian author to worship and her name is Vicki Grant.

I hugged this book so much as I read it that it took me a week to finish. Betsy Wickwire’s Dirty Secret is the type of book that I hope to one day write. Funny, realistic, heart-aching, heartwarming, cringe-worthy awesomeness.

I loved the message in the book that sometimes life throws us not what we want but what we need. I also loved that Betsy’s life is turned on its ass but once she adjusts, she finds out it isn’t all that bad, her new reality. I think pretty much everyone will be able to identify with that and the hope it gives.

I also loved, loved LOVED that the book was set in and around Halifax. AND, there’s a Joel Plaskett reference. How awesome is that? It was these little East Coast details that made me fall even more in love with the book and Vicki’s writings.

While I loved Betsy, I kinda wanted to be Delores. What a wonderfully off-centered, sweet and deep character. Oh, and her clothes? I want. BAD.

This was my first book by Grant (thanks to Shannon at HarperCollins Canada for sending it!) but you can bet it won’t be my last.

Now, where shall I put her shrine?

Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she’s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii.  And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It’s complicated.

So, I wasn’t really over the moon thrilled with the last Stephanie Plum book. But man, that was so not the case with Explosive Eighteen! Damn I LOVED this book.  I mean, I really loved it.

Ranger or Morelli. Will we EVER know?  I’m kinda hoping that Stephanie never chooses. Because it’s one of my favorite elements of the series. And with the trip to Hawaii and all that stuff, things really heated up.

Lula and Grandma were as hilarious as ever. Some people complain that there is no character growth in these books and to them I say a big “WHO THE F_ CARES?” These books are fun, cozy mysteries. I don’t mind one fig that we have no idea how old Stephanie is or how much time has passed from the first book. In fact, in Explosive Eighteen Evanovich mentions some things like Twitter and I found it a bit startling. She’s usually kinda careful about not dating the books.

This was a fun read and I had no idea what was going on with the mobster and the missing picture and I loved that. This is definitely a series that I will continue reading with much glee.

Mandy Kalinowski knows what it’s like to grow up unwanted–to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, she knows she wants a better life for her baby. But can giving up a child be as easy as it seems? And will she ever be able to find someone to care for her, too?”

Okay, sometimes a book just breaks your heart. I mean, rips it out of your body and stomps on it. Hard. But then the same book can pick up the pieces of your heart, glue them back together, give it a big hug and return it to you, better for what it went through. That’s how I feel about How to Save a Life. This book killed me, but in a good way, you know?

Both girls are so different, in their upbringing and personalities, but I felt so strongly for both that sometimes it hurt. I mean, they are both going through so much. And the complexity of the situation was written beautifully. And because the author switched back and forth from Jill to Mandy, it was heartbreaking to see the near misses and misunderstandings between the two girls.

I’m trying to write a thoughtful review without gushing or giving anything away. But this was such a beautifully, wonderfully wounded story that I’m having a hard time putting my thoughts and feelings into anything solid, so bear with me. For some reason How to Save a Life hit me pretty hard, emotionally. I think in part because of the way Zarr wrote it. Both girls were very matter of fact about the shit in their lives, Mandy in particular. The lack of overly “poor me” vibe throughout the book only made things more emotional for me.

The ending took me a bit by surprise and could have been turned into an overly sweet Hallmark card moment, but Zarr`s writing kept it in check.

This was just an unbelievable book where every word rang true and hit the mark. One of the best contemp I’ve read not just this year, but EVER. I really can’t recommend this one enough, guys.

Vera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations. Timely and eerily familiar, acclaimed author Cameron Stracher makes a stunning YA debut that’s impossible to forget. 

If you’re looking for a young adult dystopia that’s one Hell of an adventurous ride, The Water Wars is the book for you. But a warning: make sure you have a glass of water when reading. I was so thirsty as I read that I’m sure I drank a gallon of water. And that’s a testament to Stracher’s writing. He described the lack of water, the continual thirst in such a way that I felt it myself.  Now that’s kick-ass writing.

This book was chock-full of action and adventure and pirates and evil companies and my God! I loved that from chapter to chapter, page to page I was unsure who the bad guys were. Actually, now that I’ve finished the book, I’m still not 100% sure.

Okay, this may sound weird, but I felt that, despite the fact that the main character was a girl, The Water Wars was geared towards guys. The pacing, the amount of action and the fact that there wasn’t a huge amount of character development just made it seem like a good fit for boys. Not that girls won’t like it, either. It just seemed like more of a boy book to me. I guess what I’m saying is that, if you’re a boy, don’t dismiss this because the main character is a girl. You’ll love it. Trust me.

Thanks to Sourcebooks for the review copy.

Harbour View

Know what’s awesome? When you meet someone, discover they’re an author, pick up their book and absolutely fall in love with it. This is what happened with me and Binnie Brennan’s beautiful collection of short stories, Harbour View. I met Binnie back in September over in Halifax on my bookish weekend and bought Harbour View. Man, am I glad I did.

This was just a wonderfully flowing, beautifully written collection. I loved how each story was connected, but at the same time they were stand alone tales. So you can pick up the book and start with any story and not be lost. I sometimes like to do this with my short story collections, so I appreciate it.

Harbour View takes place in a nursing home and the fact that I read it shortly after a visit to my grandmother at her senior’s residence really made the stories hit home for me. Each story touched on a different aspect of life, of growing old and living so it was quite an emotional read, but in a good way. I love the fact that even though I am far from future days in a nursing home I could still identify and empathize with the characters in the book.

I loved Harbour View and it will take a prized place on my reread book shelf. And I wait impatiently for more from Binnie.