In My Mailbox (30)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and is where we share all the books we got through the week.  I had another amazing week and was overwhelmed (in a good way!) with books.

I had to take a picture of ALL of them because it's such a great stack!

I bought:

Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn (I want more dragons!)

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (YAY!)

Blameless (The Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Carriger (finally had to order it)

I don't usually share my children's books on here, but these ones are special.

I bought:

Little Chimp's Big Day by Lisa Schroeder and went to her reading and signing today.  YAY!

And then I found The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree (Bright & Early Books(R)) by Stan and Jan Berenstein and I HAD to get it!  This was one of my favorite books as a kid and we had it on audio.  It's fun to read it now because I can still hear the audio in my head.

From Paperbackswap: The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 1) by James Dashner (GREAT read!)

For Review:

In Dreams Begin by Skyler White (reading now for November review)

Boneshaker (Sci Fi Essential Books) by Cherie Priest and Dreadnought by Cherie Priest

These are for review and GIVEAWAY in November, Steampunkery month here.  

I won: (YAY!)

Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar

 The Girl Next Door by Selene Castrovilla *signed!*

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else  by Erin McCahan (can't WAIT to read this one!)

My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers Book 2) by Rachel Vincent

Thanks so much to the authors, bloggers and publishers who provided the winnings and the review books for me.  I really want to give everyone credit but my head is KILLING me so I'm not up for looking through my emails and finding them.  Some of them I won awhile ago.  But I really appreciate all the books I get through giveaways and for review.  I really really do!

So that's what was in my mailbox, what was in yours?

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler - Early Review

Details: Paperback, 180 pgs
Published: Oct 18, 2010 by Harcourt Graphia

isbn: 0547341245 (ISBN13: 9780547341248)

Reading Level: Young Adult

Received from: Netgalley for review

 

Description:

“Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.”

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons?

 

My Thoughts:

The description is just about perfect, but to be honest, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect of this book.  But I was pleasantly surprised, it was good!

I think that this book conveyed the reality of anorexia perfectly.  Showing us the realities of the disease.  For many it's difficult to understand how someone so thin can still think they are fat.  And to be honest, I don't think we can ever fully understand unless we were to go through it ourselves.  But this book can open eyes, help show us what it's like for those who are anorexic and maybe have some compassion.  It will also help those who have eating disorders understand that they aren't alone.  At least once they acknowledge that they have a disorder.

I had a hard time understanding Lisa, but that's just because of the disease.  It causes the person to be paranoid and in the end breaks up relationships and can tear apart families.   Once Lisa began to find herself I discovered that I do like her.  

The horseman aspect was interesting, but I wasn't quite getting it in the beginning.  Once more was revealed it all made sense and I think it was a clever way for the author to mix a paranormal aspect with a serious topic of an eating disorder. 

I give this one 4/5 moons!

 

You can find the author on her Website |  Twitter | Blog

 

Disclosure: I received this book from netgalley for review purposes.  I was not paid nor influenced in any way.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Winner from Saturday Situation

Last weekend I set up a giveaway for those who visited the links from Saturday Situation.  Each blog visited got you one entry.  There were a total of 21 entrants.  

We (Lori and myself) set up a few weeks of giveaways to bring attention to Saturday Situation.  We don't want people just to link, but to visit links as well.  Personally I like it because it's easier for me to click through and read the reviews and posts I want to read.  And I feel like I get some blogs visited.  

Unfortunately neither Lori or myself can continue to do weekly giveaways, but I hope to occasionally throw one in.  

I hope you will all continue to visit blogs on Saturday Situation.

So the winner for the book of their choice (under $10) or a $10 GC is...

Emily from What Book is That?

Congrats!

She's been emailed and has 48 hours to respond.  

The winner was selected using random.org