What are you reading? July 2014

I guess it's time to post a new thread for July before we forget it like we did June. What YA books have you been reading this month?

I've surprisingly been reading a lot of Adult fiction here lately (which almost never happens), but I'm looking forward to having my own personal copy of The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson in my hands tomorrow. I received a digital ARC of it and I've read it at least three times already. It's so, so good. I have no clue what I'm going to read after that. This is the bad part of reading too quickly . . .

Right now, I'm reading Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon...I'm enjoying it so far...as of right now, I'm only 90 pages in. :-)

I just finished Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Great characters. Great book!

I'm reading Grass for his Pillow, the second of the Otori Trilogy by Lian Hearn and listening to Artemis Fowl : The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer.

About two-thirds of the way through Still Life: The Books of Elsewhere, fifth (and last) in the series. I just started it earlier this evening and I've been reading it straight through, but I've got to get to bed for a while and finish it in the morning.

I'm listening to an audio book of Eleanor and Park.

I've finished Grass for his Pillow and Artemis Fowl : The Arctic Incident so now I'm reading (among other things) The Kin: Ko's Story by Peter Dickinson and listening to Artemis Fowl : The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer. I am personally enjoying the Nathaniel Parker narrations a great deal.

I'm really enjoying Throne of Glass. I'd say it beats Hunger Games hands down (though I'm sure I've offended quite a number of ardent Katniss/Peta/Gale obsessives with that statement).

I'm rereading both A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond and The Kiss of Deception, the latter because I talked it up to my mom and a friend and I was afraid I would miss it when I let them borrow it.

I've got The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer and another book whose title escapes me at the moment on my TBR pile.

I enjoyed the survival story Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. My review is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/177745#4773429

>9 Cailiosa: I'd be interested to hear how you get on with The Reluctant Assassin when you get around to it. I'm getting through the Artemis Fowl series fairly quickly (Hoping to get to the library tomorrow to return The Eternity Code and will look to see if The Opal Deception is available - or the third HP as I was trying to listen through those as well).

have u read thirteen reason why by jay asher

Just started A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn. Fantasy. The girls just wanna be free!

Peace2: I'll let you know how I like The Reluctant Assassin, though it may take me a little while to get around to it. It seems like when it rains, it pours, as far as digital ARCs are concerned, as I've just been approved for three books that I really want to read. Ahhhh, it's hard to decide what to pick up next.

>14 Cailiosa: No worries - believe me, my TBR pile is HUGE!! I'm not in a rush! Being in the position of having to choose from things you really want to read is great though! Lucky you - I hope when you decide which order to tackle them, that they all live up to expectations.

So, The Caller by Juliet Marillier (the final book in her Shadowfell trilogy) was excellent. I couldn't have hoped for a better ending to this trilogy. It's shot up there with Melina Marchetta's Lumatere Chronicles on my list of favorite fantasy series.
Snow Like Ashes was pretty good, though I had a few issues with it (mainly the incorporation of a love triangle of sorts). I'd probably read the next book in the series, but I wouldn't necessarily buy it for my own collection.
I really started off enjoying Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan, but by the last 50 or so pages I just wanted to be done with it. I blame this entirely on the super uncomfortable desk chair I was sitting in to read the book. A sore backside can make for a rotten reading experience.

Cailiosa -
I just read A String in the Harp (which you were reading up-thread) for the first time not long ago, when I picked it up for a trip to Wales. And it absolutely turned out to be the perfect read - I started reading about Jen's journey on the train to Aberystwyth while I was on a train to Aberystwyth. Plus, I had one of the locals tell me the legend of the sunken city right before read about it (though a slightly different version). I loved the synchronicity - though I must admit, I'm glad I took my trip in the summer rather than the dreary winter!

I am so jealous of your trip, @Carmellunacy! And what a perfect book to bring with you to immerse yourself in Welsh culture and stories.

I started Gathering Blue, the second in Lois Lowry's The Giver quartet.

I really like The Giver and Gathering Blue and the last one - Son - tied everything together nicely.
I did not like The Messenger

Everyone knows they're making The Giver into a movie, right?

>19 jnwelch: >20 nrmay: Gathering Blue's my favorite, for the character of Kira. I personally didn't care for Messenger either. I thought the ending was just a little too "New Age-y" contrived. I've got Son in a TBR pile, but it's been so long since I've read Gathering Blue and Messenger (I remember The Giver well enough and reread it some while ago) that I want to get around to rereading them first and that's been putting me off from starting on Son.

CurrerBell: I read Son maybe a month or so ago and I'd say if you remember The Giver well enough, you won't have any trouble with figuring out Son. A lot of it takes place during the same time as The Giver, though from the perspective of Gabe's birth mom. The events and people of Gathering Blue and Messenger do make an appearance, but I hadn't read either of those two books for a number of years and I was able to figure out Son just fine.

>20 nrmay:, >21 CurrerBell:, >22 Cailiosa: My wife liked all three a lot (Gathering Blue, Messenger and The Son). I didn't know there were any after The Giver, so this all has been a pleasant surprise. I sure do like the character of Kira in Gathering Blue.

I finished up The Kin: Ko's Story by Peter Dickinson and Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer and am now reading Beyond the Deepwoods by Paul Stewart - the first of The Edge Chronicles and listening to Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception. I'm hoping to finish both before the end of the weekend and will probably move on to The Kin: Mana's Story which is the last in that series. When I go to the library next week, I shall continue the hunt for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in audio, but I think I'll leave the next Artemis for a few weeks and concentrate on some things that are already on the TBR pile. I also plan to read The Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn soon as it's the final part of a trilogy, although I suspect I won't get to it until next month now.

What's your impression of the Artemis books? I loved them when I was younger, but haven't reread them for years.

jnwelch: I had read The Giver when I was in sixth grade and it left such an impression on me. It wasn't until I was in college that I learned there were two sequels to the book, which thrilled me to no end. I agree on how lovely a character Kira is.

Peace2: Well, I attempted to read The Reluctant Assassin this morning, but I just couldn't get into it for some reason. I really liked the Artemis Fowl series, so I'm sad I can't say the same about this new series. I do have a hard time getting into books that have teen characters working for the FBI and such - as an adult, it's hard for me to suspend my disbelief to get into the story.

>25 pwaites: I'm finding them light listening - I had only read the first one before round about when it first came out. They're working out as background listening for cleaning and such. Nathaniel Parker the narrator does a great job.

>26 Cailiosa: Sorry to hear that about The Reluctant Assassin. I won't rush to read it in that case. Being honest there's plenty of others to keep me occupied without adding to the TBR pile!

26, 27> I'm in agreement about The Reluctant Assassin. I got less than half way in before abandoning it.

I've just started reading Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian, but as it throws you in immediately after the cliffhanger-y end of Burn for Burn, which I read a while ago, I'm scraping my memory to figure out who's out for revenge on who and why.

Finished listening to Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception and enjoyed it but have decided to have a break before tackling any more in the series. Next up listening was Shadowmancer which I really didn't enjoy - found it heavy-handed for my taste.

On the actual physical reading front, I've got about 80 pages left to go in Beyond the Deepwoods, but managed to sneak The Lotus Caves in and finish that first - first published in 1969 about humans who live on the Moon in a Bubble in 2068. I actually really enjoyed this blast from the past - I read it first in my teens in the '80s.

Once I've finished Beyond the Deepwoods, I'm looking at tackling The Kin: Mana's Story and probably The Emperor of Nihon-Ja as my YA reads or possibly Allegiant which is also waiting to be read.

I'm now re-reading The Mediator series by Meg Cabot, and just starting book 2. I'm enjoying it just as much as I did a few years back :-) Unfortunately I pulled my closet apart to find the books, only to realize that they were sitting in my book case. I had forgotten I have three rows of paperback novels, not just two and didn't look back far enough before tackling the boxes in the closet.

Reading an amusing fantasy, Jinx's Magic which is the sequel to Jinx by Sage Blackwood.

I've now finished both Beyond the Deepwoods by Paul Stewart and The Kin: Mana's Story by Peter Dickinson and enjoyed both.

Next up when I've finished the 'grown-up' (ish) reads that I've got on the go now, will be The Emperor of Nihon-Ja I think and then Allegiant

If I Stay was a well done heart-grabber.