In My Mailbox (9)

Sorry this is a day late. You may be wondering where the posts have been, since there hasn't been any since Thursday. There is a reason for this. Lauren is still away, although she was back on Thursday-Friday for a little bit. And I was away on a weekend trip to Syracuse. Shopping! And not only did I get clothes... but also books! A girl's dream of course. XD

The Bought:

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
MOST OF MY friends now go to Pius Senior College, but my mother wouldn't allow it because she says the girls there leave with limited options and she didn't bring me up to have limitations placed upon me. If you know my mother, you'll sense there's an irony there, based on the fact that she is the Queen of the Limitation Placers in my life.

Francesca battles her mother, Mia, constantly over what's best for her. All Francesca wants is her old friends and her old school, but instead Mia sends her to St. Sebastian's, an all-boys' school that has just opened its doors to girls. Now Francesca's surrounded by hundreds of boys, with only a few other girls for company. All of them weirdos-or worse.

Then one day, Mia is too depressed to get out of bed. One day turns into months, and as her family begins to fall apart, Francesca realizes that without her mother's high spirits, she hardly knows who she is. But she doesn't yet realize that she's more like Mia than she thinks. With a little unlikely help from St. Sebastian's, she just might be able to save her family, her friends, and-especially-herself.

Loved Jellicoe Road and have been looking for Saving Francesca for ages. So when I saw it at the Book Warehouse for 5$ (plus a 20% off) I had to pick it up. Hardcover, even! I'm excited.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Also Book Warehouse, also less than 5$, also hardcover. I've read The Book Thief before, but it's worth owning.


Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Love is never easy. Especially if you're PAUL. He's a sophomore at a high school like no other- and these are his friends:
INFINITE DARLENE, the homecoming queen and star quarterback.
JONI, Paul's best friend who may not be his best friend anymore.
TONY, his other best friend, who can't leave the house unless his parents think he's on a date... with a girl.
Kyle, the ex-boyfriend who won't go away.
RIP, the school bookie, who sets the odds....
And NOAH. The Boy. The one who changes everything.
Love meets love.
Confusion meets clarity.
Boy meets boy.

I've heard good things about David Levithan on other's blogs, and I really enjoyed the books he co-wrote with Rachel Cohn, so I picked up Boy Meets Boy when I saw it for so cheap.

Violet on the Runway and Violet by Design by Melissa Walker
A wallflower in the spotlight can do one of two things: wilt, or blossom... Violet Greenfield's life changes forever when a lady in giant Chanel shades tells her she could be IT, the next Kate Moss-but taller, and without the PR problems. That''s how Violet winds up with a business card in the front pocket of her jeans on her first day as a senior in high school. Angela Blythe from Tryst Models in New York City wants to put Violet on a plane and whisk her into the world of high-heeled boots and oversized sunglasses. Tall, skinny Violet, who's been P-L-A-I-N practically forever. And guess what? She's going.

I've been looking at these books for ages, never buying them. So when I found them for cheap (2$), well I had to pick them up.

Skinny byIbi Kaslik
Do you ever get hungry?
Too hungry to eat?

Holly's older sister, Giselle, is self-destructing. Haunted by her love-deprived relationship with her late father, Giselle is fighting an all-consuming battle with anorexia. As a track star, Holly struggles to keep her own life in balance while coping with the mental and physical deterioration of her beloved sister. Once a strong role model and top medical student, Giselle is spiraling out of control. And together, they are holding on for dear life.

This honest look at the special bond between sisters is told from both girl' perspectives as they narrate alternating chapters. Gritty and often wryly funny, Skinny explores family relationships, love, pain, and the hunger for acceptance that drives us all.

First saw the cover in a post somewhere. So I picked it up at Book Warehouse, read the description and decided, why not? It's too cheap to resist. :P

The Borrowed:

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King
In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with "the dust of one hundred dogs," dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body-with her memories intact.

Now she's a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.

This book was big in the blogosphere a while back, so I requested it from my library. I just got it this week, and am interested in reading it. It's unlike anything I've ever read or heard of...

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter

When Cammie "The Chameleon" Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she's in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she's there to watch Macey's father accept the nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world's best school (for spies), "exciting" and "deadly" are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnappers' plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.

As her junior year begins, Cammie can't shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn't feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion's corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions Who is after Macey? And how can the Gallagher Girls keep her safe?
Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey's private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth. . . .
I read the first two in the series a while ago and thought they were good. I'm a little older now though, so the book seems a little light for my tastes. We'll see, I may end up reading it.

After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr
Leigh is a high school student living with his single mom, a romance writer, in New York City. He''s a good kid--polite and well-meaning. He gets good grades and has a nice girlfriend. His senior year of high school he moves in with his father, stepmother, and stepsister in Virginia, outside of D.C. There, he meets Maia. She's a self-proclaimed trainwreck. She''s a recovering anorexic/cutter with major mother issues. But she's also smart and witty, and Leigh is drawn to her instantly.

Their young love starts off like a romance novel--full of hope, strength, and passion. But life is not a romance novel and theirs will never become a true romance. For when Maia needs him the most, Leigh betrays both her trust and her love.

Told with compassion and true understanding, "After the Moment" is about what happens when a young man discovers that sometimes love fails us, and that quite often, we fail love.

I've been wondering about this book for a while now. It sounds like a good contemporary romance read, right?

And that's all for me this week. :) I've got loads of books to pick up at the library that have been accumulating while I've been gone, but I'm hoping to pick them up today. They'll be on next week's IMM. How did everyone else fare?

As usual, this meme is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren who was influenced by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.