Blog Tour: Blood Jewel Guest Post

Goodreads

Today, we have author Georgia Cates on the blog talking cover design! This post is part of a Paper Worlds blog tour.

Does cover art sell a book? I think so, but even if good cover art doesn’t sell a book, bad cover art will definitely prevent it from selling. I think we all know a great cover is a must, so instead of discussing the pros and cons of that, I’m going to give you a prime example of why it’s important. True story, folks... I became acquainted with a young independent writer 10 months ago and we quickly became friends after I purchased her book and posted on her blog about how much I enjoyed her writing. Fortunately, it’s a good thing I did not judge her book based on it’s cover or I would skipped right over it without a second look. Wow, I would have missed a great read. After corresponding with her for several weeks, I offered to redo her cover art for her. (I am a graphic designer, in addition to being an author) When I “met” her online, she was happy with selling a handful of books, but then something amazing happened. When she uploaded the new cover art for her existing book, her sales magically took off. I don’t mean a little. I mean a lot and the subsequent books with great cover art have done great as well. Would her books have taken off on their own with the poor covers they had? Maybe...but I doubt it. Her poor sales had nothing to do with her writing because she is a magnificent writer. It was all about the perceived thoughts readers had when they saw her unattractive cover art. You know the old saying “size matters.” Well...”covers matter.”

Thanks, Georgia! If you're interested, you guys can check out more about the series on Goodreads.

Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Series: Uglies #1
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing
Source: Borrowed from library
Goodreads//Amazon                                                                        Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

In a market of flooded dystopias, we need some fresh, new ideas. And at first, Uglies certain seems like that sort of read. It appears to be fresh and inventive, and I have to admit that I was very interested at first. But the more I read, the more cliche I realised it was, and now, a few weeks after I've finished it, the post-dystopcalyptic (i.e. Hunger Games. Term coined by Hayley, my wonderful co-reviewer) forumla is really showing through:

1. Heroine rebelling against authorities
2. Lotsa action
3. Plenty o'romance
4. Typical I-will-control-who-you-mate-with government

And while I understand that most of the elements above are typical of the dystopia genre in general and not just post-dystopcalyptia (she made the word but I created the adjective!), what I was hoping would be a fresh breath became, very quickly, just the average YA dystopian read.

Despite this, however, I did like the action scenes and some of the sci-fi elements incorporated in the story. It was a bit of a wild ride: with all the hoverboards and the roller-coaster riding, I barely had time to get my head around one thing before the next adventure started. It's a little like an eccentric blend of The Hunger Games, Legend, Matched, and Divergent.

I have a feeling that Westerfeld had lots of fun with this one--who wouldn't like writing about uglies and pretties and this intricate, well-designed society. There was quite a bit of Ugly slang used in the story, but not to an overly unbearable level. 'Bubbly' wasn't so much an issue in this book as in the next; however, the overuse of 'bogus' still annoyed me and continuously distracted me from the actual writing. There's a line you really have to tread between bringing readers into the minds of your characters by using slang and taking it completely overboard. Uglies goes about halfway, but Pretties made me seriously irritated. If you're wary, just read the synopsis and count the number of times 'pretty'/'pretties' is used. It will give you a general idea of your tolerance level (no reaction=green light; sigh=yellow light; headdesk=do NOT proceed any further).

Romance wasn't a main component of the story, so I think it should've been eliminated altogether. I have yet to find a YA read without romance, and I think that could well be a selling point. I never connected with David, the main love interest at all. He was actually rather annoying, I didn't like his parents, and I never knew what Tally saw in him. It was, quite simply, insta-love: shallow and petty.

The ending was fairly predictable. In fact, the whole story was relatively predictable. I did continue on with the series, however, and the only basis for this was because I wanted Tally to become a Pretty and live in Pretty-land, which glittered and beckoned at me with all its allure from Page One. Yes, I know. I'm like that.

Spoilers: Overall, I would recommend this book as a light-hearted adventure, but if you're looking for something really fresh and creative, don't let the synopsis fool you too much. It ends up being the very typical YA romantic dystopia, complete with insta-love and a heroine who starts off weak but ends up much stronger and far trickier. Three and a half stars.

Insane Writing Week: Day 1

Today's word count

26464 / 45000 words. 59% done!

Yesterday's word count

25563 / 45000 words. 57% done!

Again, I was pretty busy today, but I did get a little bit done, and I consider today a breakthrough day because I got past this bit I'd been really stuck on. If I can keep going at a steady 2% per day, then by the end of this week, I would've gotten 14% done, and by the end of the fortnight, 28%! But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. Anyway, at least I'm trying! (Attempts to comfort self)

~Nicole~

Insane Writing Week: Day 0

Oh, please >_________>

Today, I was out all day at a school function. I did get a teensy bit of writing done when I got back, but it was literally a minuscule amount. And I'm seriously doubting the quality of it. I also failed to finish Mrs. Dalloway, which I'd told myself to finish today, even though I got through about five pages throughout the course of the entire day. I know, I know. I'm so good at meeting goals.

On the other hand, Hayley told me that we could extend this challenge to two weeks since I have some stuff due at school and it's kind of stressing me out. Believe me when I say that I am very, very good at stressing.

Today's word count

25563 / 45000 words. 57% done!

Word count from earlier today

24827 / 45000 words. 55% done!

So, 2%. I guess that's better than nothing, huh? I must speed up if I'm going to reach the 1,500 a day I'm shooting for (originally 3,000, but that was before the introduction of new stress factors). Also, I am starting this challenge earlier than planned, so these boring posts will end next Sunday. Probably.

Nicole's Week of Insane Writing

Exams are over! :D


That was an insanely stressful, homework-and-exam packed week. And I've never been so glad for a week to be over, I think. Since I am trying to complete a novel within 6 month (and failing pretty badly so far), Miss Hayley has challenged me to write 21,000 words within next week--that's 3,000 per day. She has also promised me a SURPRISE PRESENT if I manage to reach this word count by the end of the week, and will also make an embarrassing dance video for Nicole's blackmailing pleasure if Nicole completes the novel entirely (I will keep this and show it to Hayley's future in-laws and her children).

So you guys can track my Insane Writing Week and participate if you have novels of your own to finish as well! This entire week will be devoted to Insane Writing and Nicole will be doing an update each day. Yes, you get to read her exciting exciting blog posts!

24827 / 45000 words. 55% done!

This is my current word meter, and the challenge will start on Monday. So get ready for a week of crazy writing and I need to get that video off Hayley! I'll be Tweeting via the hashtag #InsaneWritingWeek so remember to join me on Twitter as well! See you all!

ARC Review: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Series: Nightwatchers #1
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Goodreads//Amazon
I don't do dangerous.  Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me. But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back. Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me.... NIGHTWATCHERS When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

I don't normally do angel books. After the last two I read, Halo and Hush, Hush (both of which I gave one-star ratings to), I vowed never to touch one again. But I read the synopsis for this and I thought it sounded fairly interesting, and that I shouldn't discriminate against YA angel books. So I decided to give this a shot. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't quite as bad as I expected, although not exactly my ideal, but I will definitely be hanging around for the sequel and more of the awesome demon in this story, Kraven.

There are a few things that didn't make sense, and I'd like to get them out of the way first. The book starts out with a kiss from Stephen, Samantha's crush, who approaches her at a nightclub and asks her if she wants a kiss that will change her life. Now, I don't know about you, but if a boy approached me (no matter how hot) and asked me if I wanted a kiss that would change my life forever, I wouldn't just blink at him and nod. If he's never talked to me before, never shown interest in me previously, I'm not going to fall head-over-heels for him all of a sudden. There must be an underlying reason, and possibly a bad one. Samantha claims to be uber-careful, but I don't think that's the case, and she didn't have the sense to reject Stephen's kiss, or at least ask him what he meant by the kiss changing my life forever.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. Our dearest protagonist decides that it's 1) a sensible idea to kiss this boy who has 2) never in his life noticed her before, and 3) completely overlooks the fact that it could be dangerous. If only more fictional characters acted like real, sensible people!

Another huge problem with the story is that the angels swear. If I remember correctly, not only does Bishop call Natalie a b****, but he also tells Kraven to 'go to Hell', something I'm pretty sure an angel would not say. The fact that Samantha decided she didn't really trust the angel also didn't make sense; I'm pretty sure that, given the choice between placing my trust in an angel or a demon, I would pick the angel. Samantha, however (and imagine me saying this in an extremely patronising tone), decides that the angel is probably pretty untrustworthy, and defies him at every turn.

And I thought she was meant to be smart.


Also, the insta-love. The 'romance' between Samantha and Bishop started out as an INSTANT ATTRACTION, which annoyed me to no end. The book really took instant attraction to an extreme, and I didn't like that at all. I sometimes feel that the concept of the Grays being intensely attracted to kissing was created to justify this otherwise inexplicable insta-love. I never really fell for the Bishop/Samantha romance; I always felt as though it was shallow and staying at the insta-love level in which it started.


Now that we have all that out of the way, here is the good: I absolutely adored the complexity of Kraven and Bishop's relationship, and although I wouldn't necessarily picture Kraven as the average devil, he was my absolute favourite character. I do hope Michelle Rowen decides to narrate the next book from his point of view--it would be really cool. He was hilarious, witty, kind, at times, which is why I don't think he was a great devil, and I really loved him. It would've been cool if he were the main love interest, without a love triangle, of course.

Most of the characters were okay and I did like Natalie, one of the meanie-poops, because she had motivations behind her actions and she had stories to offer...she was just an interesting character, you know? Many of the characters in the story stayed one-dimensional and very flat, and I feel that only the villains had real complexity. I never exactly connected with Samantha, I really disliked Carly, and I found Bishop hard to figure out but nothing more than that; I never felt for him as a love interest.

Overall, this book disappointed me a little, but it didn't make me rage or excessively headdesk. While I feel as though there are many areas of improvement and the characters left much to be desired, it was a rather fast-paced ride, and I will probably be sticking around for the sequel to wherever it takes us after that semi-cliffhanger ending. Two and a half stars; I made it sound worse than it actually is.

A free copy of the book was provided for review purposes (and received with thanks!) but did not influence this review in any way.

New Design

Warning: abundance of exclamation marks in post below!

You guys, we have a new design. And our fabulous makeover is all thanks to Misa, whom you might know from The Magic Attic Reads and her fantastic design blog, Paper Wing Design Studio. We've been good friends for a while on Inkpop, and I was beyond amazed when she made us this beautiful design.

If you're looking for a design, check out Misa's stuff. Seriously. She's efficient, patient, talented, and basically everything you want in a designer. Teenage Fiction applauds her! *pops champagne bottle*

We also want to apologise for the lack of reviews lately. Yes, we realise that our content has been pretty terrible lately, but it will all change once exams are over and Hayley finishes her assignments!

Tell us what you think about the design or Tweet Misa @CatchingWishes. You know you want to!

Joint Follower Appreciation Giveaway with Lexie!

As some of you may or may not know, Lexie from Still Waiting for Books to Come True and myself made friends a couple of months ago over Twitter, although I'm guilty of stalking her on Inkpop long before that >:) Now we've decided to make a Joint Follower Appreciation Giveaway to thank all you amazing people! Anyway, I won't bore you guys for too long, but I just wanted to mention how amazing Lexie and her blog are, and if you haven't seen the blog yet, you must check it out.

So basically, a massive thank you to all of our followers. *throws virtual confetti*

This giveaway is international, as long as the Book Depository ships to you. There will be one prize pack up for grabs, which includes a book under $15 from The Book Depository as well as an Amazon ebook under $15 (if I can purchase it in my region). If you don't want the ebook for any reason, e.g. if you don't have a Kindle and don't like reading on your iPad/computer, a second winner will be drawn for the ebook. You can read more of the TOC in the Rafflecopter if you're interested :P. You must be over 13 or have a parent/guardian's permission to enter.

As always, may the odds be ever in your favour. You may or may not wish to count to sixty before touching that Rafflecopter form. You never know what might happen if you don't...;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On Old Reviews and Lifelong Writing

I have no reviews today- after the exams and assessments stuffed together last week, I haven't had time to read much.

That depresses me. Greatly. 

So, in pursuit of actually posting something somewhat enjoyable for you guys to read, I decided to dig out some of my older reviews in my other goodreads account.

Cue embarrassment.

Here's a review of House Rules by Jodi Picoult a little less than two years ago.

Ingrediants for a Jodi Picoult book.

1.Child with issue.

2.Neglected  and troubled child

3.Something to do with law.

4.1 random death per story

Then, you mix and match, and create a Jodi Picoult book!

Easy,isn't it? By the time I have gotten to this book, I am starting to tire of the same storyline.I really enjoyed My sister's keeper, handle with care was okay, and now I've figured the exact ingredients for a perfect Jodi Picoult book.On top of that, it's also VERY annoying to have her keep on switching perspectives, just when we've gotten into the story.However, the reason I come back for more, is that I love her characters and the way she makes them so realistic. The rest is all gibberish to me. I mean, it's really thought-provoking, but after hearing the same message so many time,WE GET IT!

I love you, Jodi, but please do something different for a change.

Nicole and I went through a 'let's love Jodi Picoult!' stage about two years ago, before submerging into 'OMG it's the same book!' stage a few months after that. My anger was shown here with my excess use of exclamation marks and CAPITAL LETTERS- though I still gave it three stars. I wasn't the harshest reviewer then... I gave Twilight three stars at first (oh the shame). I actually found the review of it, and it was written approximately the same time as House Rules.  Here you go:

One of the really cheesy cliche books.I would have liked it more if it was more original. However, note that I did actually give it 3 stars, and that is because I think that the story line is quite a good one, and with some re-writing and some more thought put in, could be a good book that I would find more pleasant to read.But absoulutely terrible,boring to read, and I think I lost many of my brain cells just reading it.

I swear I'm being completely contradictory here. 'The story line is actually a good one' and then a sentence later 'absolutely terrible, boring to read'... I think I was trying to be nice here in this review, and not really doing a good job of being diplomatic or truthful. I'm not sure what was going through my brain at that time. And yes, I do own a Twilight book, though I may have slightly... edited it. Yes, that's the word. Edited.

Bottom line is, aside from this being slightly funny and embarrassing material for you guys to indulge in the awkwardness that was me two years ago, I'd just like to say that writing is something your really need to just keep going at and improving on. I mean, two years ago, I thought my writing was amazing for someone my age. I was using 'cliche' and being all clever with my exclamation marks. I thought I was witty with my 'list of Jodi Picoult's novel checklist' (though I still think it is somewhat true). 

I might look back on this in a year or so and go- 'WHY HAYLEY WHY DO YOU WRITE LIKE ZIS?' but the fact is that'll have proved I've improved. To be honest, I'm a little proud of these reviews still (despite the bad taste), because it's a little reminder that I used to write like that. That I've improved at least a little in these few years- although at the same time, it does also remind me that I've got a long way to go if I want to be a good author. Ever.

Any thoughts on this?

Sunday Wrap-up {4}

Sunday Wrap-up is a meme where we showcase all the books we got last week and discuss random things.

Books mentioned in the video: Blood Red Road by Moira Young, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Where She Went by Gayle Forman, Saturday by Ian McEwan, Solar by Ian McEwan, Divergent by Veronica Roth and Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix.


What did you guys get this week? Leave a link and we'll check it out!

Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Goodreads | Amazon 

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.

Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

Note: This was written after a high dosage of movie editing and late nights, so some of the phrases may run on a little as I am both exhausted and somewhat rambly. I'm sorry, people but promise to make it up to you soon?

Blood Red Road is an adventure. Sure, it's set in a post apocalyptic world, but it's just an adventure. Nothing more, nothing less... and that's all it needs to be (and yes, I realize it sounds cheesy but bear with me here)

Set sometime in the future, it begins with Saba, the main character's twin brother getting captured. Immediately, Saba decides to go and save him, and from then on it's a huge quest. On the way, Saba meets love interest Jack, a gang of girls that are trying to change things and her little sister Emmi tags along too. There are no deep, dark secrets. It is simply an adventure, and an amazing one at that.

The adventure was something that I haven't seen in YA fiction for just a tad too long. Single minded? Yes. Crazy and exhilarating? Most definitely. It just goes to show that not all 'great' stories have to be based around huge anti-political uprisings and inequality. That not all stories have to be full of diabolical plans and evil, political leaders, and I loved it for that. There was a ton of action, with whole paragraphs dedicated to fight scenes and worm killing (no joke, they are scary) and the way Moira weaves it altogether is both gritty and beautiful.

Another thing I loved about the story was the characters. Saba is tough, hard-headed, somewhat cold at the beginning and not all that likable, but somehow, I found myself slowly warming up to her. I got her- why she acted the way she is, and I rooted for her as she learnt from her mistakes and learnt to be more compromising. She's not perfect, and she doesn't pretend to be. She didn't even try to be the hero in the novel- all she wanted was her brother, and that was something that I enjoyed seeing. The rest of the characters were fleshed out too- the love interest was not possessive or overly clingy, something good to see, and the love that developed between them was relatable- no insta-love! The rest of the characters like Emmi were also well thought out, and I never had the notion that any of them were flat or one dimensional.

Granted, for many people the writing will be an issue, but it flowed seamlessly for me. It's written quite strangely, with the language used and the grammar being intentionally incorrect at points, but it worked. It fit into the tone and setting of the book, and I liked it. Maybe it's because I've had previous experience with the Chaos Walking series, but there were no transitional issues for me this time round.

There are a few other issues that I had to problem with in the novel, and I guess the major disappointment for me was just the lack of world- building in this novel. While I understood that it wasn't the main point of the novel, I felt as if it could have been explained more- how did the world become what it was? There wasn't any explanation, and that was pretty much the only thing that kind of put me off the novel, which to me was disappointing.

Overall, Blood Red Road is a novel that is definitely exhilarating if you're looking for a fast paced novel with lots of action, and I enjoyed it a lot, though it wasn't one of those life changing novels for me. 4 stars.

★★★★

Four Stars- I enjoyed it

Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Type: Purchased for Kindle
Publisher: Puffin
Add to: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.
Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

I last read Looking for Alaska as a nine year-old. It was wildly inappropriate and now, I only recall snippets of the mildly mortifying experience, but I do remember, quite vividly, telling my mother that 'It's a good book! It's just that they swear a lot, Mummy.'

Looking back, I actually remember enjoying the story. I was into boarding schools back then, and my personal fascination reached into the roots of YA and adult literature--my first foray into those genres, and I still don't understand why my mum purchased a copy of this book for me. (Admittedly, I did choose it myself.) But I gave it away at some point, and now, a few years later, I decided to re-read the story since Maxine bought a Kindle e-copy.

Wow.

There were things I remember from my first read; the bufriedo, the descriptions of deep-fried Alabaman food (obviously, my foodie persona goes a long way back), and, most of all, Alaska. I remembered her as a girl who smoked a lot and did 'bad things', but ultimately, I loved her as a character. And I think that my nine year-old self identified what I think are the best things about this book and committed it to my subconscious memory: minus the food, what I enjoyed most were the characters and the great John Green Road Trip which identifies all his work. Miles falls a little limp for me in this one; I didn't fall in love with him the way I did with Q and Hazel, but he was still a great narrator.

Looking for Alaska is a book about love and loss. It's a coming-of-age novel; I think that is why John Green's books are so universally loved by teenagers, because they address what we struggle with most: finding an identity, and finding out who were are. Teenagers are caught in the veil between belonging to their parents and belonging to themselves, and it can be so hard to figure out who we really are while our vision is being obstructed by that filmy curtain. All of Green's characters, minus the dying ones, devote the book to figuring out what and who they are--Q, when he searches for Margo; Miles, when he moves from home to seek a Great Perhaps; and Colin, when he goes on the road trip to recover from his tragic breakup with K19.

We like characters that we can identify with, and in John Green's protagonists, we see faint, fuzzy mirror images of ourselves. We hope that we can grow up the way his characters can grow up: screw up, have fun along the way, but ultimately, turn out as an adult who still struggles with identity issues but finds a place in the world.

And for every teenager who succeeds in doing that, succeeds in pushing past the failure and emerging into this world as a young adult, a few fall along the way.

That's what Looking for Alaska is about. It's a beautiful novel. It's realistic, it's relatable, it was heartbreaking, but it was also truly uplifting.

He was gone, and I did not have time to tell him what I had just now realised: that I forgave him, and that she forgave us, and that we had to forgive to survive in the labyrinth. There were so many of us who would have to live with things done and things left undone that day. Things that did not go right, things that seemed okay at the time because we could not see the future. If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions. But we can’t know better until knowing better is useless.

I cannot say anything more about this novel. Five stars.

★★★★

It was amazing

The Uglier Side of YA Covers: Phenomena of 'Whitewashing'

The iconic image of YA 'whitewashing': Liar by Justine Larbalestier

"Since I’ve told publishing friends how upset I am with my Liar cover, I have been hearing anecdotes from every single house about how hard it is to push through covers with people of colour on them. Editors have told me that their sales departments say black covers don’t sell. Sales reps have told me that many of their accounts won’t take books with black covers. Booksellers have told me that they can’t give away YAs with black covers. Authors have told me that their books with black covers are frequently not shelved in the same part of the library as other YA—they’re exiled to the Urban Fiction section—and many bookshops simply don’t stock them at all."

This is what Justine Larbalestier, the author of psychology thriller Liar, said about the whitewashing of her novel cover. Due to requests from Larbalestier and readers, it was eventually changed to one depicting an African-American girl which better reflects the nationality of the story's protagonist, but still the question remains--why did this happen at all?

Larbalestier and Brennan's recent novel, Team Human, depicting an Asian model on the cover

Here are some stats taken from the US Census Bureau (races not mentioned below include American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders). Just for the sake of easy comparison, we'll be comparing the four main ethnic groups in the US, according to the census:

• Caucasian persons--72.4%
• Latino/Hispanic persons--16.3%
• African-American persons--12.6%
• Asian persons--4.8%

Kate Hart studied a number of YA covers and came to the conclusion that the percentage distribution of 'coloured' (let's just say that I think this term itself is problematic, but I won't ramble on here) people on YA covers were as follows:

• Caucasian persons--90%
• Latino/Hispanic persons--14%
• African-American persons--1.2%
• Asian persons--1.4%

Image taken from Kate Hart's post

Why? What sort of message are publishers and cover designers sending? That Caucasians are somehow more attractive; more beautiful? That stories with Caucasian protagonists and Caucasian people are more acceptable?

I understand, completely understand, that stories with Caucasian protagonists would have Caucasian models on the front covers. It just makes sense. But what about stories with Asian main characters? What happens to them?

Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules is the perfect example. While I loved the story, as I talk about in my review, why is Alison Sekemoto, a girl of Asian descent, portrayed by a white person on the cover? Because it will sell better, even though the practice of doing this is racist and, more importantly, morally wrong?

The features are undeniably Caucasian

To wrap up this post:

I acknowledge that these opinions are coming from an Australian Caucasian teenager and I accept that there are many, many people who have different ideas.

I acknowledge that publishers do what they need to do for money and a living.


I acknowledge that we must be tolerant of each other, and the diversity is what makes humans so fascinating and different.

I acknowledge that Caucasians, as a race, have committed morally unjust acts in the past and present.

I acknowledge that this post is not only about the 'whitewashing' of YA covers but a reflection of racism and the human race as a whole.

Opinions? Please feel free to discuss below.

Amazingness: 100 Follower Giveaway

Oh, my goodness, guys.

100 followers (actually, to be more accurate, 107).

Wow. Just wow.

We want to say thank you to everyone who's supported us, and especially Lexie from Still Waiting for Books to Come True and Misa from The Magic Attic for reasons that will be obvious soon *mysterious stare*. Anyway, onto the part all of you have been waiting for: the giveaway!

There will be one international giveaway and one for Australians only. One Aussie will have the opportunity to win a paperback of Divergent by Veronica Roth (it's shiny!) and another will win a paperback of Matched by Allie Condie (I bought this one overseas so it's slightly tatty, but in rather good condition. If you win and want a photo I'd be happy to send you one; I'm just too lazy to post it here). The first winner will be able to choose which prize they want and the runner-up will have to make do with the other book :P. International followers will have the chance to win one of the Amazon ebooks on our list below.

Remember that Aussies can also enter the International giveaway, and that you don't need a Kindle to read Amazon ebooks; the Kindle Reading App on your smartphone, PC, or Mac will also suffice. Without further ado, the Amazon ebook list! The winner will choose one of the following (not all books included in the cover collage; for the full list, check the caption beneath the photo)!

Top to bottom, left to right: Looking for Alaska by John Green, Paper Towns by John Green, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare, The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa, The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa, The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Legend by Marie Lu, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare, City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
Not Included (but you can also pick one of these): The Fault in our Stars by John Green, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Cover collage of the Iron King series taken from I'm a book nerd, so what?

Phew! That was a lot of typing. If the publisher doesn't have ebook publishing rights in your country, you can refund the book to Amazon for a gift card of the equivalent value, but we are sadly not responsible for this.

So...go!

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Waiting on Wednesday {20}

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we showcase books that have not yet been released.

 Goodreads 

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. 

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.
Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined. 

Expected publication: August 7th 2012

So, what's your WoW this week? Leave a comment below and we'll be sure to check it out!

Sunday Wrap-up {3}

Nicole: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levathan; Blind Willow, Sleeping Women by Haruki Murakami; Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
Hayley: Insurgent by Veronica Roth, The Selection by Kiera Crass

What did you guys get this week? Leave a link and we'll check it out!

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Type: Purchased for Kindle
Publisher: Poppy/Little Brown
Add to: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything? Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A. Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

It's the good sort of insta-love.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First sight was a bit of an eye-opener for me. My initial reaction after seeing the title was 1. 'cool title!' then, quite rapidly, 2. do I want to read a book where the insta-love, one of my greatest YA pet peeves, is immediately addressed in the title? I finally came to the conclusion that, 3. I did want to read this, because the cover was stunning, everyone was loving it, and it sounded unique, fresh, and quirky. And I'm glad I picked it up.

I never even noticed that this book was set in the space of 1 day. It felt so much longer than that--perhaps it was the complex backstories of the characters, and the sharp contrast between the broken Hadley and the intelligent and slightly mysterious Oliver (what is he studying?), and the fact that Hadley was such a real character. I never exactly felt like it was annoying insta-love; Oliver was charming, witty, funny, and such a fantastic love interest.

I have to say, however, that I was expecting this book to be completely set on the plane, which would've been really awesome. I guess that there's a limit to what you can do on an aeroplane when your characters are unable to connect with or contact with the outside world, and so the author had to move them off, which disappointed me a little. As much as I loved the British setting, I didn't think the part on the plane went for long enough!

It's not often that I say this for YA, but I don't feel that there was enough romance. While Hadley and Oliver did have their moments and I understand that too much romance in a 24-h novel would've crossed the line to irritating, I felt as though the kissing scenes should've been longer. Or maybe that's just coming from a die-hard Oliver fan :P.

This book isn't about love at first sight. It's about youth, and family, and learning to heal and move on. Jennifer Smith puts a new spin on an old story by creating a memorable cast of characters, heart-clenching romance, and insta-love that brightens your day. There's someone out there waiting for you--all you need to do is find him. Four and a half stars.

★★★★

It was good/It was amazing

Review: Tallow by Karen Brooks

Goodreads | Amazon
On the edge of a mystical border called the Limen, close to a beautiful canal-laced city, a humble candlemaker rescues a child whom he raises as his apprentice. 

Years pass and the child’s unusual talents are revealed, the gentle art of candlemaking slowly transforming into something far more sinister.

Lingering in the shadows, enemies watch and wait - a vengeful aristocrat, an exotic queen and the lethal creatures known only as the Morte Whisperers.

They hunger after the child’s ancient magic and will do anything to control it - betray, lie, manipulate. Even murder.

I had been meaning to finish reading Tallow for a long, long time.  I started it some time ago, but put it down when I was really looking forward to read some other books.  For me, Tallow was really good but I couldn't get into it until after a few chapters.  It was sort of like, I read the words, but I didn't absorb it at the beginning. There wasn't much action at the beginning so in my opinion, it took too long to finish setting the scene and get started.  Of course, there's a lot of background information which is handy to know before the actual 'plot' but it was a bit too long.

Tallow was a really interesting character and I really liked her.  However, I did find some minor character flaws that will be listed below in the spoiler...

SPOILER ALERT: Why did it take Tallow so long to realise that she was actually a female?  I didn't think she had to get someone else to tell her for her to realise, especially when there was a female and a male in the house.  Obvious differences, much?  I guess this also added to the interesting part of the book, especially when the person on the cover (a different version to the one shown) was a female. /END SPOILER
Tallow really appealed to me as a character.  As I read through her adventures I just really wanted to make friends with her because she seemed so nice and just so innocent!  I really sympathised with her when she was in trouble and felt her nervousness as well.  I could really connect with her throughout the book.

Tallow was the first fantasy-type book I read that was just different to the others.  That is, different in a good way.  I really liked the idea of the world inside Tallow.  It was just really enjoyable to read about Tallow's learning and growing through her 'magic powers' but of course, many other bonuses made it even better.  I thought it was pretty smart how Tallow practiced her magic...

Overall I really liked Tallow.  Apart from the fact that I didn't quite like the first part, it was really page-turning and I really didn't want to stop reading late into the night.  I should mention I cannot wait to rad the other books in the trilogy!  I rate Tallow 4 out of 5 stars.

★★★★

4 stars - It was great!