Off The Shelf Challenge

Are your books multiplying like rabbits before you even get a chance to read them? Trying to keep up with them, but can't stop buying new ones?

Maybe this challenge is for you. I know what it's like. There's so many titles and so many beautiful books out there sometimes it's hard to keep that TBR shelf under control, but if you really want to try why not challenge yourself?

Well check out BA Reading Challenges, and sign up today.

Also check my link at the top of this blog and see what I will be reading in 2011

2011 Debut Author Challenge

What's the 2011 Debut Author Challenge?

• Goal: Read at least 12 debut Young Adult or Middle Grade novels that are published in 2011
• Time frame: The Challenge runs from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2011.
• Who can participate: Anyone! You don't need a blog to join, you can post your reviews to Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, et cetera.
• More info: This challenge is hosted by The Story Siren, so check out her blog to sign up, see a list of debut novels, or see a list of FAQ's about the challenge.
  

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

I went to the library the other day to check out Laura Lippman, I had read some reviews on One Person's Journey, and was intrigued. Before leaving the library I just had to make a quick stop at the new release section. I had heard about Still Missing, and added it to my pile. I knew it was a 7 day loan, and thinking why am I doing this I can't possibly read this in 7 days (I mean I was and still am in the middle of a couple other books - yes that is correct, a couple other books).

I started it Monday night and just finished this morning. It was a wet dreary morning, the perfect time to sit and read. Plus I just couldn't put this baby down.

On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.

Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.

This novel grabbed me from the get go, it flowed, it was an attention grabber right away, I loved the characters. I loved the chapters, each of which were her therapy sessions. It was a believable story. The ending was amazing and I enjoyed it right to the last page.

Chevy Steven has her second novel coming out next year entitled Never Knowing, which I will be on the lookout for.

Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Jonah, Katherine, Chip, and another boy, Alex, have no preparation before they are sent back to 1483 at the Tower of London, with the promise that they can return to the present if they can repair history. They quickly discover that Chip and Alex’s true identities are the 13-year-old King Edward V and his 10-year-old brother, Richard, Duke of York. But before Chip can enjoy being the king of England, they discover that they are virtually prisoners—and that their uncle wants them dead. How can the kids repair time and return home when according to history, Chip and Alex were murdered?

This is book 2 from The Missing Series. While I enjoyed the first book, Found, I really enjoyed this one more. Maybe it is my love of English history or the mystery surrounding the princes in the Tower that grabbed my attention. There are so few clues as to what really happened to these 2 boys and I think Haddix did a wonderful job of creating this story.

There is a third book in the series Sabotaged, which has been released in hardcover already.