April's Book Choice

The votes are in! Thanks to everyone who voted, and for those that didn't, I hope you can join us next time.

Leading by three votes, the book you chose to read for April is...

Wither by Lauren DeStefano!

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

I hope to see you all at our book club so we can have some awesome discussions about this book!

And don't forget to enter our Meg Cabot Book Giveaway. It ends tomorrow!

LIVE Book Club Chat @ 5PM

     WELCOME!!

Are you ready to discuss Across the Universe by Beth Revis? Great! The chat begins at 5pm (pacific time). Choose a nickname and click enter to start chatting!! We'll have some questions ready to guide the discussion, but please feel free to voice your own comments or questions about the book. We're all friendly here, so don't be shy to join in! Talk to you soon.

UPDATE: Our live blog chat ended at 6:20 (pacific time). Thanks for the really great discussion! We had some new "faces," and I hope we'll see you guys next month! Stay tuned!! April's book choice will be announced on the blog this coming Tuesday! Have you voted yet? If not, find the voting post and make sure to put in your two cents!! :)


Happy Thursday, everyone!! :)

The Lit Express Book Club: Vote for April's Book!

April kind of snuck up on us, didn't it? Well, it's that time of month, so we'd like you to vote for next month's book again! You'll have one week to vote, and I'll announce April's book on April 5. I know that's a little late, but I want to give everyone a chance to have their say in what we read next month. So, without further ado, here are the summaries for this month's options (all are taken from Goodreads):

Clarity by Kim Harrington

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?

This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

The Liar Society by Lisa Roecker

Kate Lowry didn't think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, she’s not so sure.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu
Sent: Sun 9/14 11:59 PM
From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu
Subject: (no subject)

Kate,
I'm here…
sort of.
Find Cameron.
He knows.
I shouldn't be writing.
Don't tell.
They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace’s death was more than just a tragic accident. But secrets haunt the halls of her elite private school. Secrets people will do anything to protect. Even if it means getting rid of the girl trying to solve a murder...

P.S. Be sure to join us for our Live Book Chat about Across the Universe on Thursday, March 31 at 5 PM (Pacific time)

The first few pages of a book

are SO important.

Writers stress over the first few pages of their manuscript.

For readers, it can make or break a book purchase. I'm really picky about the books I buy from the bookstore. I take greater risks with online purchases because the books are half the price and even less than that if they are used. If I pick up a book and the 1st page doesn't hook me, I'll literally put it down and probably never give it another thought. I agree with all you tsk-tsk-ers and those of you shaking your finger at me this very moment. I shouldn't be like that. But come on---with thousands of books out there, and not enough time to read them all, we've got to be picky!!!

That being said, I want to talk about how AWESOME the beginning of Across The Universe by Beth Revis is. I have to admit, I'm always a little late to get started with the book club read, and then I rush to finish before our live blog chat at the end of the month. This time, I'm not so late (still 10 days to go lol).

I've decided to read the first couple pages of the book to you. You be the judge. Does this beginning start off  different from most YA books? Does it hook you? Would you read more??

If so....join our book club <hehe> so you can join us for the live book club chat at the end of this month! Or not, but let me know what you think of the beginning.

And before I start, let me give you tiny blurb to get you started:

"Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends--and planet--behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship." (Taken from book's inside flap.)

Final thoughts

Starting the book with the process Amy has to go through in order to be a frozen passenger is what kept me reading. I wanted to see how Amy would handle it when it was her turn. I was intrigued by an idea that isn't yet possible in this day and age but could be one day.

-Rane-

The Votes Are In! March's book is...

Thanks to everyone who voted, you guys are awesome! Without further ado, the book you have chosen to be this month's read is (by an overwhelming majority, I may add):

Across the Universe by Beth Revis!

Thanks for everyone for participating. I'm looking forward to awesome discussions with you all over at The Lit Express's Book Club!

PS Any suggestions for April? Go ahead and send us an e-mail, comment, or post on our Goodreads site. This is your book club too and we'd love to hear your input!

Until Later,

The Lit Express Book Club: Vote for March's book!

Hey everybody! As you may (or may not) know, The Lit Express hosts a book club over at Goodreads. If you'd like to join, just click here and add us to your groups! If you're already part of the club, awesome! Keep checking to see when the live chat will be for our current book, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

The time is coming to choose a new book, and since we promised you'd be able to vote on the next book we read, I'd thought I'd post the poll now. You all have 6 days to vote. Results will be posted on the morning of Tuesday, March 1. Below are the titles and summaries (taken from Goodreads) of the books we've chosen. Vote for whichever one interests you the most! I'm looking forward to see what you pick!

Choice #1: Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.

Then Jordan dumps Courtney -- for a girl he met on the Internet.

It's too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney's heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la -- this is Courtney pretending not to care.

Choice #2: Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly

A summer to remember…

Angie always thought high school romances were just silly infatuations that come and go. She certainly never thought she would fall in love over one short summer. But when she meets Jack, their connection is beyond any childish crush. Suddenly, Angie and Jack are filling their summer with stolen moments and romantic nights. But as fall grows closer, they must figure out if their love is forever, or just a summer they’ll never forget.

Choice #3: When It Happens by Susane Colasanti

Reminiscent of the movie Say Anything, a debut novel for all those searching for The One!

Sara and Tobey couldn't be more different. She is focused on getting into her first-choice college; he wants to win Battle of the Bands. Sara's other goal is to find true love, so when Dave, a popular jock, asks her out, she's thrilled. But then there's Tobey. His amazing blue eyes and quirky wit always creep into her thoughts. It just so happens that one of Tobey's goals is also to make Sara fall in love with him. Told in alternating points of view, Sara and Tobey's real connection will have everyone rooting for them from the minute they meet!

Choice #4: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Until later!

LIVE book club chat about Revolution (happening right now)!!

Welcome to our live book club chat about Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Choose a nickname and start to chat!
Our chat ended at 8:20pm! We had a great discussion following a reading guide! RaneAlyssaDahlia& Bella showed up tonight! SO THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR A GREAT CHAT!

Book Club Blog Chat

The month is coming to an end, and I thought today was the PERFECT day to mention our book club blog chat.

We will host a chat discussion here on The Lit Express to talk about our current book club read. We just finished reading Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly!

And now we're ready to talk about it! So...

When: Monday, January 31st @ 7pm (pacific)

Where: The Lit Express (you know...the blog you are visiting this very moment!)

Why? To discuss Revolution, of course!

We will load a chat window in a post, and all you have to do is visit the post page to start typing! If you plan on participating in our blog chat, leave a comment in this post! No RSVP is necessary, though. So, if you feel like book chattin', pop by our site on the 31st @ 7pm (pacific) to do it!

If you can't make this time around, not to worry! There's always next month.

February's Book:

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

 

Jay Asher's brilliant first novel is a moving, highly original story that focuses on a set of audiotapes made by a girl before she committed suicide, and which explain to 13 people the reasons why she decided to end her life. Told in a highly effective duel narrative -- alternating between the girl s voice and the thoughts of a boy who is listening -- this honest, poignant story reveals how other people's actions shape, and by extension can ruin, an individual's faith in people. Intensely powerful and painfully real, Thirteen Reasons Why reveals how brutal high school can be, the consequences of spreading rumors, and the lasting effects of suicide on those left behind. (from goodreads)

To join our book club on goodreads, click here!

Revoultion Trailer/Author Interview

The Lit Express book club is up and running. As I posted last week, our first book choice is Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Not only will we be meeting on goodreads for discussions (check the discussion threads), but we will also be having a chat room discussion here on the blog later this month. Even if you haven't joined our book club, we'd love to have you stop by to talk about Revolution! *So excited about this*

In the meantime, I wanted to share these videos with you guys. The first is the Revolution book trailer, and the second is an interview with the author. The interview gave me goosebumps. No joke.

Watch. Enjoy. Read.

Book Club: book for January 2011

The Lit Express book club

This month's book is: 

 Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

 

Summary from goodreads:

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

• Stay tuned for info about our LIVE book club blog chat at the end of January. *You can always check when this is happening later on our blog calendar*

Click here to join our book club at goodreads.

This Week's Low Down: Book Club Fever

Greetings from the writers at  

The Lit Express. 

This week we have one--I repeat--one important announcement. The Lit Express book club will be making its debut in January 2011. Things to watch out for in the coming week:

• JANUARY's book choice
 

• The date of our LIVE blog chat so the book club can discuss what we thought about the book. *You can always check when this is happening later on our blog calendar*

Click here to join our book club at goodreads.