The Secret Year Review

Title: The Secret Year          
Author: Jennifer R. Hubbard
Release Date: Jan. 7, 2010

Summary from Amazon:
Take Romeo and Juliet. Add The Outsiders. Mix thoroughly.

Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year, and no one—not even Julia’s boyfriend— knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can’t mourn Julia openly, and he’s tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia’s journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he’s desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?


Outlined Review:
Character Development: 9/10
Originality: 8/10
Hookability: 10/10
Ending: 9/10
Voice: 9/10
Recommendation: 10/10
Total Score: 55
Grade: A

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 8/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 7/10
Sexual Content: 9/10
Violence/Disturbing Images: 5/10

Written Review:

The Secret Year was deeply moving. It got me hooked almost immediately and at just under 200 pages it was a quick read that held true depth. The novel opened with Julia’s sudden and tragic death and gained even stronger emotion from there.

The word choice in this novel was wonderfully done. Within the short book, the painfully real words keep you turning the pages. Julia’s voice was just as evident as Colt’s through her many journal entries and memories. She seemed so vivid and full of life in Colt’s memories that it was hard to imagine her gone but also made you sympathize so much more with Colt’s loss.

Julia and Colton had amazingly believable chemistry and the descriptions of their relationship only intensified it. Seeing the relationship through both Colton and Julia’s eyes gave the reader a deeper understanding of what the relationship meant to each of them. And the intricate details and passion gave the relationship another layer of depth that strengthened the relationship that much more.

Colton’s feelings of pain and loss were easy to sympathize with. Colton's relationships with Syd and Kirby were blanketed by feelings of loss and pain at memories of Julia as he struggled to heal, and move on and without anybody to properly grieve to, he was stuck in a state of numbness and feelings of guilt over Julia’s death.

I was immediately compelled by Colt and Julia’s romance. The intensity and raw emotions portrayed drew me in almost instantly. Colton’s distinct voice kept me in the novel as he tries to heal from a love that ended before it really had the chance to begin.

Overall, The Secret Year is a quick read with plenty of depth and emotion that is worth checking out.  A powerful love, a tragic death, and a year of secrecy wrap up this beautiful novel about finding the strength to let go of a love that was never truly yours to begin with.

Thanks

Jill

25GoC: Erin Dionne + Contest

Erin Dionne’s Five Fave Christmas Movies

Okay, I love Christmas movies—but they’re not always the ones that you expect. Yeah, Elf was funny, and It’s A Wonderful Life is touching, but I like my holiday fare to be a little…darker (for the most part). Here are my top five Christmas movies, in order. You can find these playing at my house any time after Thanksgiving. Come on over and bring the popcorn!

5. The Nightmare Before Christmas. Watch as the residents of Halloweentown kidnap Santa and take over Christmas in an effort to cheer up their leader, Jack Skellington. It’s Tim Burton at his best—dark, funny, and suitable for TWO holidays!

4. Die Hard. Yep. The original takes place at Christmastime. You get Bruce Willis, an LA skyscraper filled with terrorists and hostages, explosions and gunfights. Makes arguments with relatives and your annoying Aunt Margaret seem easy to deal with by comparison. Yipee-ki-yay!

3. Love, Actually. Okay, a no-brainer, and probably (on the surface) the sweetest one of the bunch. But there’s more to this film than Hugh Grant’s awkward charm or Colin Firth’s smile. Look a little closer--Billy Mack singing nude on New Year’s Eve? The Naked Couple? Or how about poor, sad, Laura Linney and her inability to find love because of her obsession with her brother? Oh, Love, Actually. You are funny, sweet, and dark. Cheers!

2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. This is a Dionne family tradition. My parents, sister and I—and now our families--have been watching this movie on Thanksgiving for upwards of 20 years. Chevy Chase is at his bumbling best putting up the external house lights and dealing with his brother-in-law. But it’s Todd and Margot, played by Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, that put this film over the top.

1.      Better Off Dead. Lane literally wants to kill himself when his hot girlfriend Beth dumps him for a ski god in this John Hughes classic. Don’t think this is a Christmas movie? Ah-ha! Check out the Christmas morning scene, when Lane’s family opens frozen dinners as gifts and gets fashionable aardvark fur coats. HYSTERICAL. My husband and I watch this classic every year as we decorate the tree.

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Erin Dionne’s debut novel, Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies, published by Dial Books for Young Readers, was selected as a Featured Title for Scholastic Book Fairs and was nominated to the 2010 American Library Association Popular Paperbacks list. PEN/New England’s Children’s Book Caucus named an early version of the Models manuscript as one of its 2006 Susan P. Bloom Discovery Night award winners.  Her second book, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, will be released January 7, 2010. It is also a Scholastic Book Fairs Featured Title. Erin lives outside of Boston with her husband, daughter and dog, and teaches English at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA.

Website: www.erindionne.com

Blog: bostonerin.livejournal.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/erindionne

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those are some great choices but I tend to stick to the classics----ya know, Santa Claus is Coming To Town, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, A Christmas Story, etc.--- but to each their own...

Comment below to win a bookmark!

closes Dec. 25th

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thanks so much and happy holidays!

Jill

25GoC: Linda Gerber + Contest

My Top Five Christmas Travel (Mis)Adventures:
By: Linda Gerber

5. The Cabin - Our first year in Japan, we rented rooms in a multi-family cabin near Miyajima for Christmas. The place was heated by kerosene and the fumes were so bad, we all got headaches Christmas morning and reeked of it for the rest of the trip.


4. Shopping in Paris - My dear husband forgot to put my suitcase in the car when we left on this vacation and we didn't discover it until we reached the airport... Which is why my first shopping spree in Paris was scrambling on Christmas Eve to buy essentials like toothpaste and deodorant before all the stores closed!


3. The Blizzard - In 1999, we drove from Ohio to Arizona to spend Christmas with family and got caught in the worst blizzard of the decade. The Interstate closed and we ended up stuck in a hotel, just in time to snag one of the last rooms available.

2. Down Under - This didn't happen on Christmas day, but it was our holiday trip... In Sydney, we carefully avoided the cool beaches like Bondi because we had heard those beaches were clothing-optional and, you know, we had our kids to think about. We hit a so-so beach instead and the first thing we see coming out of the water? Some topless lady's leathery grandma boobs drooping down to her waist. Should have guessed the kids would be more amused than traumatized...

1. The Christmas Grinches - On another road trip from Ohio to Utah, we stopped in Denver for the night. I thought I had been really clever to have everyone prepare an overnight bag to take into the hotel so we wouldn't have to unpack the whole car. Big mistake. While we slept, someone broke into the car and stole luggage, Christmas presents, everything. Bah, humbug.


I think we've learned our lesson. This Christmas we're staying put!


How about you? Do you travel over the holidays? What's your most memorable travel adventure?

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Comment to win a signed copy of Linda Gerber's latest book,

DEATH BY DENIM

+1 comment

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I hope all of your holiday travels go smooth!

Happy Holidays!

Jill

25GoC: Ashley from Books make Great Lovers

CHRISTMAS PROS AND CONS
By: Ashley from Books Make Great Lovers

Christmas has many pro’s and some cons as well. I though I’d take some time to share a few of my pro’s and con’s this winter.

Pros

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1. You get presents. This year I asked for a laptop (my dad said no but I’m working on him), some clothes and books (probably also a no because they see that I have a whole TBR bookshelf). But hey any present is a good one.
2. You get to eat tons of crap and nobody will stop you. I love this sugar cookie balls that are coated in powdered sugar. There are probably 8 million calories in one but Christmas calories don’t count (:
3. The music is all upbeat. This is the one time of year when even our favorite rappers take a break from degrading us women to belt out some “Jingle Bells”. What could be better then gangster frosty the snowman (:
4. You get to see the family that you only see once a year. Everyone gets super excited, “I haven’t seen Aunt So-and-so since last Christmas” but by the end of the holiday we remember why we never call that family up and invite them over. They are just plain obnoxious! But we love them (:
5. The Cute cups at Starbucks. Okay so maybe nobody else cares about it but I love the red Starbucks cups. They just make me feel all cheery and the drink tastes even better!

Cons

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1. You have to see THAT person. You all know the one I’m talking about. The adult who still thinks your 10 even though you’re 16 or 17 or even 18. “Your too young for a boyfriend” or “look at you, your quite the cute little girl” are common sayings.
2. You are reminded that you’re lonely. You don’t have a boyfriend but your sister does. She’s getting fancy gifts from her love and your just hoping Santa will bring you something near as good as those diamonds her man bought her!
3. No school…for TWO weeks. This could be a bonus but not usually. A week off of school is nice but 2 weeks of being stuck with your family (non-stop if there is a blizzard) is just too much!
4. You get treated like a kid again. I don’t mean just in general. When it comes to driving your parents request to take you everywhere. “I don’t want you driving in the snow, kiddo. You might have an accident.” It’s nice to be pampered but who wants dropped off at a party by their mommy?
5. The mysterious 10 pounds. Even though nobody can tell you to stop eating during the holidays they sure can comment on the weight you gain from eating after the fact. “Wow Ashley. You sure put on some weight eating all those snowball cookies.”

I love Christmas guys (: Don’t get me wrong. Just taking a minute to relate all the problems we have all faced at least once. Merry Ho-Ho- Holidays (:

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visit Ashley's marvelous blog at http://booksaremylove.blogspot.com

And don't forget to check out all the contests going on all December in the sidebar!

Thanks so much and Happy Holidays!

Jill

25GoC: Laura Wiess + Contest

10 Reasons I Love Christmas

1. Tis the season to wear velvet, fa la la la la, la la la la. (Soft, plush and luxurious: I indulged in a funky, black velvet maxi coat this year and I swear I'm going to wear it until falls off of me in rags.)
   


2. My sister's Christmas cookie extravaganza. (She bakes - I'm not kidding - something like 35 different kinds of cookies, with like four dozen each. And then she gives them all away! I love my sister.)
   


3. Snow on Christmas Eve. (Okay, that's never a sure thing but there was snow last year and it was magical, so I'm hoping it happens again.)
   


4. Donating to my favorite charities, including the Humane Society, assorted animal rescues, the local soup kitchen, and the Salvation Army bell-ringers standing outside of the stores. (I never miss an S.A. basket. I figure if they can stand out in the freezing cold for hours on end, trying to help people, then the very least I can do is oblige them.)
   


5. Scoring what I hope is the perfect gift for someone, then watching them open it, and seeing that yes, it really was.
   


6. Christmas carols and church bells. Both make me cry. So do holiday movies. I'm a total sap this time of year, and I love it all. Especially this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WzAyderAKU
   


7. Walking into my parents' house calling, "Merry Christmas!" and hearing my family call back. (I love the happy welcome and the smiles in their voices.)
   


8. Family, friends, kindness, laughter and Santa. And the jingle horse.
   


9. Decorating the tree, and the memories that come with each of the ornaments
   


10. A crisp, clear, night sky full of stars, a fireplace with a crackling fire, cats curled up sleeping, a tree with twinkling lights, laughter, fresh coffee, good music, a heart full of joy, peace and gratitude, and a wish that everyone and everything everywhere is warm, well-fed and loved. Happy holidays!

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I am so so so very sorry for not getting this post up sooner. Last night my computer, phone line, and TV all crashed. We couldn't get them fixed until this evening and I hadn't scheduled this post yet. Hopefully the giveaway and this fabulous post will make up for that.

Laura Wiess has kindly donated one signed copy of each of her 3 books (How It Ends (see my review HERE), Such A Pretty Girl, and Leftovers) There will be 3 winners. (First winner gets first pick, 2nd winner second pick, and the third winner will receive the last book)

Basic Basic Entry rules:
Open to U.S. only
Contest closes December 25th
+1 comment w/email
+1 follow me
Full entry rules can be found HERE

Remember to keep checking the contest sidebar for more contests all month long!

thanks so much!

Jill

25GoC: Suzanne Young

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY DURING THE HOLIDAYS?

I’m a sucker for the holidays. You’ll never see me smile more than the weeks leading up to Christmas. Everything feels so loving and beautiful. It’s my favorite time of the year. Here are the things about Christmas that make me happy:

Christmas Music. You may think it’s annoying, but I start listening immediately after Halloween. And yes, I mean Halloween and not Thanksgiving.

TV Specials. Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch? We’re talking magic here. You might even catch me watching the Hallmark channel!

Decorations. No matter how old I get, when I see pretty lights and decorations, I’m instantly five again. It’s a special moment for me.

Giving gifts. I’ll be honest, my husband kind of sucks at gift giving. Sorry, honey! But I love, love, love thinking of awesome things to get him and the kids. I’m also the WORST at keeping the gifts secret. I usually end up giving my husband his early.

Memories. When it’s the holidays, I think of my grandparents and how happy they made me when I was growing up. And even though it hurts a little to not have them anymore, I’m so grateful for everything. And I still feel them close by every Christmas Eve.

Suzanne Young is the author of the YA series THE NAUGHTY LIST, which has nothing to do with Christmas or Santa. But it is about catching cheating boyfriends. You can find out more about her at www.suzanne-young.blogspot.com.

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thanks so much for visiting Suzanne! Christmas music is my favorite too but after Halloween!?! I make it a rule of mine not to start listening until Black Friday. But from that day until the 26th of December you can be sure that it's playing non stop at my house.

I would also like to wish Suzanne a very happy birthday! I hope that you have a fantastic day and that all of your birthday wishes come true! And that you get lots and lots of birthday cake because truthfully, what could be better than birthday cake???

thanks again.

Jill

25GoC: Melissa Walker + Contest

Can't see the video? Click HERE

comment below to enter to win a copy of Lovestruck Summer!

Basic Entry rules:
Open to U.S. only
Contest closes December 25th
+1 comment w/email
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Full entry rules can be found HERE

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thanks so much!

Jill

25GoC: Madison Scott + contest

What Christmas Is To Me:

By Madison C. Scott

1. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
   The Greatest Gift mankind has ever received, the Savior of the world.


2. Christmas is Santa Claus.
   I live with my parents and seven siblings ranging in age from eighteen to five. Christmas Eve finds the fireplace doors opened just a crack, cookies, hot chocolate, and a note on the Santa plate by the hearth, and kids determined to hear Santa’s reindeer on the roof.


3. Christmas is family.
   We seem to have a lot of family time throughout December. Someone’s always in the kitchen baking cookies or making fudge and in this house, that’s an ordeal that requires no less than two helpers. The Christmas movies are out, and on, and we’ll wander through, catching our favorite parts. Keeping secrets, hanging the garland just right, decorating the tree, baking for gifts, everything has to have the whole family’s participation for it to be right. My mother’s family has a Christmas party every year, tree, presents, dinner and all, along with grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, cousins, second cousins, third cousins, cousins that I know are cousins but I’m not sure how, we all show up. Christmas day means my grandparents, uncle, cousins, and the occasional odd boyfriend/fiancé of a cousin come up to the house for presents and sweet stuff.


4. Christmas is tradition.
   I love tradition. It’s a reminder that no matter how old you get, or how much things change, some things will always be the same. From decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, to watching A Christmas Story a dozen times, to daddy reading “The Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve, to the fudge recipe, and punch, and chocolate-chip-pecan pie, everything about the Christmas Season is centered around tradition. That makes me very happy.


5. Christmas is giving.
   I prefer to make the gifts I give, I think it makes them more special, and I’m not a big fan of shopping. I don’t like crowds, I don’t like trying things on, and I can usually find a much better (in my opinion) way to spend a day. Once a year, though, my grandmother and I have a Christmas shopping day. We get lost in the mall, visit the toy store two or three times because we forgot something, have lunch, and get most of her shopping out of the way. I love doing that.


6. Christmas is music.
   My sister is playing carols on the piano, Christmas music is on the radio, Bing Crosby’s “Silver Bells” is stuck in my head on repeat, somewhere in the house someone is singing “Mele Kalikimaka” and won’t stop. Daddy’s singing Elvis: “I’ll have a bl-bl-bl-blue, blue, blue, bluuuueee Christmas.” It’s everywhere.


7. Christmas is on the television.
   It isn’t quite Christmas without the Christmas movies. A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, White Christmas, Polar Express, Ernest Saves Christmas, Tim Allen’s Santa Clause movies, Rudolph and all the classic stop-motion movies, and Elf, to name a few.


8. And last but not least, Christmas is that warm fuzzy feeling.
   The warm fuzzy feeling when your family is all together, when you hear the cold wind outside and are warm inside, the tired, content feeling, the indescribable happiness. Christmas is love.

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Madison Scott celebrates Christmas with her family in Tennessee, where the trees are occasionally still green, the grass occasionally still needs mown, and the temperature is occasionally 50 degrees on Christmas Eve. The closest she’s ever been to a white Christmas was the one year there were snow flurries, but a Tennessee Christmas is all she ever wants to experience, with or without the snow. Check out her website at www.madisonscott.webs.com and see what mischief she’s been getting into lately.

In addition to that wonderful guest post, Madison Scott has so kindly donated 2 copies of her book, Reba, for giveaway!

Comment on this post to enter

Basic Entry rules:

Open to U.S. only

Contest closes December 25th

+1 comment w/email

+1 follow me

Full entry rules can be found HERE

Also make sure to enter to win a signed bookmark by clicking on the contest link in the sidebar!

Thanks so much

Jill

25GoC: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

WHAT I OWE TO CHRISTMAS

by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

I'm Jewish, so I primarily celebrate The Other Holiday, but Christmas has always been a part of my life - my husband being a Christmas celebrator, some of my best friends being Christmas celebrators, not to mention my enduring love for How the Grinch Stole Christmas. And really, since my husband and I have a daughter, I like being a two-holiday household because it gives us an excuse to have double the fun with Jackie.

But ever since December 2006, I've had a reason to be grateful to Christmas. Jackie was six at the time. We were out visiting friends in Crested Butte, Colorado. Our friends have no kids, nor do they own a TV, and a blizzard struck, closing down Denver Airport and extending our visit to 10 days. 10 days! For those of you with kids, and those of you with close knowledge of kids, can you imagine being somewhere in this day and age with no TV and no other little people for your own little person to play with? In Jackie's defense, she did very well for the most part. But that blizzard meant that we would not get out of Colorado until Christmas Day and would therefore miss Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the rest of the family. [Note: I'm the only full Jew left in the family, with Jackie considering herself a half, so the celebrations with everyone else are still big and it was a lot for her to miss.]


Well, we had to do something to entertain ourselves on Christmas Eve and then again on Christmas Day, most of which we spent in airports and on planes. So we began brainstorming ideas for a book that kids Jackie's age would enjoy. By the time we finally made it back to Danbury, we had the idea for a whole series of books for 6- to 10-year-olds called THE SISTERS 8, about octuplets whose parents go missing one New Year's Eve, leaving the Eights, as they are known, to solve the mystery of their parents' disappearance while keeping the rest of the world from realizing that eight little girls are living home alone.

We wound up selling the idea to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and the first four books in the projected nine-book series have already been published, with the fifth, Marcia's Madness, due out May 3, 2010. All the books are written by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (http://www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com/) with Greg Logsted (http://www.greglogsted.com/) and Jackie Logsted (Jackie doesn't have her own site yet, but the Eights do at http://www.sisterseight.com/).

So thank you, Blizzard of 2006! Thank you, Christmas Spent In Airports And On Planes! Without you, there'd be no Sisters 8, no series written with my daughter, which has been the greatest joy of my writing career.

May whichever holiday(s) you celebrate be joy-filled and creative.

Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night.

25GoC: Saundra Mitchell

10 Things that Ungrinch Me for the Holidays

By Saundra Mitchell

The end of the year is always crazy busy for me, and I tend to get overwhelmed with the crowds/details/errands/tasks/schedules that I have to struggle through. As a writer, I like a lot of quiet and solitude, and there's very little of that in December. But, there are ten things guaranteed to get me out of Grinch-mode and into the holiday spirit.

10. Making cranberry relish the way my grandmother used to- with her hand-grinder and everything.

9. Thick, perfect slices of challah and friends to share it with.

8. Fires in fireplaces- mine or other people's. I love the richness of woodsmoke on the night air.

7. Cards in the mail instead of junk.

6. The wide, winter sky, so black against snow, glittering with stars from horizon to horizon.

5. Juniper and holly and spruce in the house- my favorite color, some of my favorite scents.

4. Candles for Chanukah, for Christmas, for Kwanzaa, for Solstice. I love candles, and everyone's lighting them this time of year.

3. Mulling apple cider- I can't deal with nog. I just can't.

2. Listening to Dar Williams' THE CHRISTIANS AND THE PAGANS, which only makes me cry every single time I hear it.

1. When the snow falls so fast, it whispers.

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Thanks

Jill