The Revolution of Sabine by Beth Levine Ain

 It’s 1776 in Paris, France, and while it isn’t America, there is still discussion of the American Revolution. There is especially a lot of talk about Benjamin Franklin, the revolutionary American who is coming to visit Paris. All of the socially elite are planning parties in honor of his visit, and it is crucial that they are all perfect.

Sabine Durand’s mother is no exception. She wants perfection for her latest party where Franklin is the guest of honor. She has even arranged for Sabine to be escorted by one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Paris. The thing is Sabine couldn’t care less. She’s not caught up in the aristocratic lifestyle, and she actually cares about what is going on.

She soon rekindles her friendship with Michel, her nanny’s son, and her mother is not at all pleased. Sabine doesn’t care though as she goes off gallivanting with Michel and even gets the chance to meet Franklin. Sabine gets swept up in the meaning of the Revolution and really comes to form an opinion. Fueled by these new ideas of freedom, Sabine is determined to make a change in her life. She starts to break away from her controlling mother and stand up for herself. Will Sabine succeeded? And is there a possibility of maybe finding real love in this time of change?

This book is one of those historical fiction books where the author just gets it all right. The facts were spot on, her description of the setting was great, and the overall atmosphere that she created was genuine.

Sabine’s character was great. She learned to stand up for herself and discover what really needed to be done in her life in order for her to be successful. She had the right amount of feistiness and seriousness to keep the reader intrigued in her life.

I also thought it was really interesting that the author chose to set the story in the time of the American Revolution, but also in Paris where there wasn’t as much of a change going on. The reader got to see how the Revolution affected the whole world. The setting also made Sabine’s change much more interesting, because she was taking political ideas and applying them to her life, which I found to be absolutely compelling.

Overall I think this is a great book for all ages. It provided a great historical aspect, but yet it wasn’t overloaded with facts that it was boring. Sabine’s journey to discovering herself was very realistic and most teens will be able to relate, even though the story is set in 1776. Beth Ain did a great job and I look forward to reading her future works. 

In Too Deep by Jennifer Banash

Step back into the super privileged world of The Elite. The infamous girls living in one of New York’s classiest apartment building, the Bramford, are back. While they may look absolutely perfect and dazzling, dark secrets are hiding behind their all too perfect appearance.

Casey McCloy is finally starting to fit in. Her hair’s not as unruly as it used to be, she’s learning the ins and outs of a good fashion sense and she’s dating Drew, one of the hottest guys in all of Manhattan. As she becomes the “New York Casey” though she feels like she’s losing herself.

Then there is Madison Macallister, the reigning queen of the Upper East Side, who just so happens to believe that Casey stole Drew from her. Even though Madison and Drew weren’t officially dating, Madison was majorly crushing on him, and still can’t believe that a Midwestern freak like Casey could steal him away from her. Determined to get Drew back, Madison all but wages a silent war on Casey in order to exact her revenge.

Will the queen bee get what she wants or will the new girl find herself all of a sudden a lot more powerful then she ever thought possible?

These books are splendid! In Too Deep picks up right where The Elite left off, not missing a beat. All the gossip and drama that occurs in Gossip Girl is present in these books, except these girls actually have moral standards.

All of the characters in the book were excellently developed. Each had their own unique story and personality. I really love how Jennifer Banash had two supporting characters who each had their own thing going on. They were separate from Madison and Casey and really had their own lives, dealing with their own problems. What’s also really great about the characters is that even though they are spoiled socialites, any girl could easily relate to them. Even Madison, who appears to be untouchable, has many insecurities that are present in your everyday teenage girl.

The pages were definitely drama filled and I found it hard to tear myself away from the book, eagerly anticipating what would happen next. There were many twists and turns that I would never been able to predict and I found many of the plot aspects to be really creative.

Jennifer Banash has definitely created a great sequel to The Elite, and while she answered many questions from the first book, she has created even more in this one. All the better though as it promises a great third book in the series, Simply Irrestible, which hits shelves in Summer 2009. In the mean time though go out and enjoy yourself as you read this deliciously guilty book!

Let's Ring in the New Year!

Happy 2009 everyone!!

Not only is it a new year, but it is also the one year anniversary of my blog!! I first of all want to thank everyone whose visited, commented, and supported my blog, without you I'm not sure I would still be blogging! Also a big thanks to all those publishers, authors, and Jen Wardrip for sending me some awesome books and such.

Hopefully there will be much more this year as I already have many plans and a few changes in mind and of course many, many more reviews. My main goals for the year are to stay caught up with my blog and get some more author's in to visit. Like I said I have many new ideas and I'm hoping they will all work out.

Now in celebration of my anniversary and the New Year I'm throwing a contest!! I've included a couple of books that I really enjoyed in 2008 and a couple of books to look forward to in 2009. They are:

Peeled by Joan Bauer
Unbelievable by Sara Shepard
In Too Deep by Jennifer Banash
Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill

To enter just comment or email (andanotherbookread AT gmail DOT com) and let me know what you would like to see on my blog this year. Let me know what you think of it and changes you think need to be made.

The rules of the contest are as following:

1. Two entries for letting me know your thoughts about my blog.
2. Three additional entries for advertising about the contest. Whether it be blogging about it, mentioning it on MySpace/Facebook, or any other means you can think of. Just let me know what you do!
3. Any kind of follower whether you are old or new will get an additional two entries.
4. I want to thank all my readers, no matter where they live, so the contest is open internationally!
5. All entries must be submitted by 12 p.m. E.S.T. by Saturday January 10th.

Good luck and thanks in advance for all your tips!

O and the winner of last weeks And Another Simple Question is......Lauren from Shooting Stars!!Please send me your address and I'll get the book in the mail to you ASAP.

The Best of 2008

This year I think I read more books within the year then I ever have before, and I loved every minute of it! As the year comes to a close though I have to highlight my top fifteen that were published in 2008. I've read over 200 books this year so obviously there are many to chose from and so many more that I did not get a chance to read. Note that these are in no particular order and these choices are just my opinion.

1. Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
2. Paper Towns by John Green
3. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
4. Undone by Brooke Taylor
5. House of Dance by Beth Kephart
6. Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
7. Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab
8. Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle
9. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert
10. Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt
11. Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian
12. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
13. Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway
14. The Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Caletti
15. Violet in Private by Melissa Walker

And I just have to mention one of my other favorite books of the year that won't be published until Spring 2009, but I can't help share it with you all and hopefully get a little pre-publication buzz going, SOUL ENCHILADA by David Macinnis Gill.

Best of luck in the New Year and lookout for a great contest and a hopefully fun filled post tomorrow!!!

Girl Week = Reviewer X = AWESOME!!!

Hey guys quickly head on over to Reviewer X for the last little bit of fun. Steph is hosting an amazing girls week where there are tons of great guest blogs and of course...giveaways!!

Top 8 by Katie Finn

Madison MacDonald had life all figured out. She has three great best friends, she’s dating one of the hottest guy’s in school, she’s got the lead in the school play, and she’s going to the Galapagos for Spring Break (while she’s not that excited, but hey it’s not the worst thing that could happen). Then the worst does happen, her Friendverse profile is hacked. Not only are her (and many other people’s) worst secrets plastered all over the Internet, but also some very unflattering pictures. Now she no longer has a boyfriend, half of her school hates her, and she’s in some very deep trouble. Thankfully she has some of the best friends a girl can have believe that she was hacked and are all determined to help her figure out who’s behind this nasty prank, and clear Madison’s name once and for all.

To be honest I was very surprised with this book. There was a good storyline, that wasn’t too predictable, the characters were cute, and it was a very cute love story. I also liked how Katie Finn addressed how much emphasis teenagers put on social networking websites by teenagers. In this case, Madison feels her whole life is ruined when her profile is hacked. This is because people rely so much on these websites, and this book shows just how much trouble these sites are.

I liked how some of the story was told through comments on Madison’s profile page; it gave an insight as to what other characters were thinking. While there were times when the book got a little slow and predictable, it quickly picked up again. This would be a great read for reluctant teen readers, as it mixes the type of way the story is told and it’s current with today’s world. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from Katie Finn and was quite impressed with her debut novel.

And A Simple Question? Week of December 14-21

Sorry for the delay, but I've been having major internet problems!!

The winner of The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman is....

Chelsie of Bookluver Reviews!

Congratulations Chelsie. Please send me your address so I can send the book to you.

On to this week's question....

What book (released 2008) depicts the instant stardom of a girl who just wanted to break up with her boyfriend?

Either comment or send me an email at: andanotherbookread AT gmail DOT com. 

Prize this week: ARC of Triple Shot Betty's in Love by Jody Gehrman 

Rules are same as always, besides that you have to get an additional 3 entries for getting the right answer.