Mundie Moms

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Book Review: Unforgettable by Loretta Ellsworth


Published by: Walker Books
Released on: September 27th, 2011
Source: ARC from author to review
4 stars: I liked it

Baxter Green isn’t like everyone else. While most people would forget about the little details of everyday life, Baxter never forgets—not pain, not hurt, not embarrassment. In fact, Baxter never forgets anything—not even a string of account numbers, flashed before his eyes by his mother’s criminal boyfriend, Dink, for use in a credit card scam. Years after his testimony has locked Dink away, Baxter and his mother are in a new town, trying to forget the danger Dink brought into their lives. Baxter wants to hide his unique ability, but it becomes increasingly more difficult when he reconnects with Hallie, a girl from his childhood who has lived on in his memory long after she has forgotten him. Can Baxter win Hallie’s heart? Loretta Ellsworth’s newest novel is one readers will never forget. -quoted from Goodreads

Wouldn't it be cool to never forget anything? I thought so when I first heard about this book, which is about a teenage boy named Baxter who after an accident remembers everything. I mean like every little detail, which at first seemed something that would be pretty amazing, but as I started to get to know Baxter, I realized it's not as cool as I first thought. I can't imagine remembering everything little thing, the good, the bad and the real tragic like Baxter does. What I started out being cool, ends up being more of a burden for Baxter.

Baxter is a pretty neat character to meet. He's also an ordinary guy who has an extraordinary ability. It's not just his ability to remember everything that makes him fascinating, but the fact that he's able to associate voices to smells, colors or objects. This allows him to identify people with things, like the love interest's voice to him sounds like yellow daffodils. Not only was this totally unique to the story, but I've never encountered something like this before. It was quite refreshing to read about this and it made Baxter a really unique character for me to get to know. The author really captured my interest with her book by creating a character I couldn't help wanting to know more about. He's broken, he's strong, and he's an outcast.

Though the flow of the plot is at times slower than I normally like to read, I couldn't stop reading it. I got so caught up with the story, which is richly detailed and allowed me to connect with the feelings of first love, remembering what it was like to try to find my place in the world, and figure out who I was. These are the same things Baxter deals with in his story, and I liked that he's a character who continues to grow and change as the story continues. I think Baxter is a character many readers will find just as intriguing as I did, and will find themselves being able to connect with him when they sit down to read his unique story.

Infernal Devices Clockwork Prince 31 Day Celebration: Day 8, Will & Tessa Teaser


It's day 8 of our 31 days Clockwork Prince Celebration and as promised today's teaser is for all the Will & Tessa fans! This is from one of my favorite scenes in CP. You can read our Jem teaser here. ENJOY!!


She felt him inhale. "Tess," he said. "Tess, look at me."
She raised her eyes to his, slow and unwilling, braced for anger or coolness-but his gaze was fixed on hers, his dark blue eyes somber beneath their thick black lashes, and they were stripped of all their usual cool, aloof distance. They were as clear as glass and full of desire. And more than desire- a tenderness she had never seen in them before, and had never even associated with Will Herondale. That, more than anything else, stopped her protest as he raised his hands and methodically began to take the pins from her hair, one by one.

-Clockwork Prince, pages 288-289

Interview with Eve author, Anna Carey

Today we're thrilled to have debut author, Anna Carey on the blog today! She's stopped by to answer a few of our questions about Eve. If you have a moment, I highly recommend watching/listening to the video link she's shared with us of J.K. Rowling's Harvard commencement speech.


Thank you so much for being with us today Anna & congratulations on your recent release of Eve! What inspired you to write Eve's story?

Thank you! It's exciting to finally see the book in stores. When I started writing I'd been thinking about the same few questions: What would happen if you found out everything you've learned is a lie? What if the world, as it actually was, was so much more beautiful and terrifying than you ever could have imagined? Would you have the courage to explore it?

What is something you admire the most about Eve?

The adventure follows Eve through three states and over hundreds of miles. She's fighting against the elements, wild animals and gangs, all while being chased by the King's army. But in my mind, the book has always been about how she changes and grows in the process. When she escapes School she has few supplies and absolutely no survival skills. She's not only been taught that men are dangerous and violent, she's been taught that going beyond the School wall means certain death. She's terrified, but she overcomes that terror. To me, that's the bravest thing about her.

Your world building is fascinating. When you first started writing Eve's story did you always have her world pictured in your mind or was that something that grew as the story developed?

I wasn't as interested in creating a whole new world as I was in reimagining our existing world in the wake of an unfathomable disaster. What if the world was, in some ways, better without us in it? What if the air and oceans were cleaner and ugly strip malls were covered over with ivy and moss? When Eve goes beyond the School walls, the wild she steps into looks like a lush, overgrown paradise. That was always very vivid to me. The City of Sand and the King's world is developed further in the second book.

What's a book you've recently read that you'd recommend to our followers?

I'm reading two books right now and loving both. Passion by Lauren Kate and Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley. Passion is the best in the series so far--I love seeing Luce and Daniel's story play out through different lives and centuries. Where Things Come Back is gorgeously written--the book literally gives me chills (in a good way).

If you could have lunch with any author past or present, who would you want to have lunch with and why?

J.K. Rowling. In addition to being a phenomenally talented author,every time I've seen her interviewed I've been fascinated. I loved her Harvard commencement address (If you haven't seen it, check it out here) and overall outlook. She just seems like such a strong, smart, talented woman.

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Thank you Anna for joining us today! J.K. Rowling's speech is incredibly motivational. Thank you so much for sharing that will us.

You can follow Anna on her Blog, Twitter, Facebook, and follow The Eve Trilogy on Facebook.

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble |IndieBound


Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

In this epic new series, Anna Carey imagines a future that is both beautiful and terrifying. Readers will revel in Eve’s timeless story of forbidden love and extraordinary adventure. -quoted from Goodreads

You can read my 4 star review & enter to win an ARC of Eve here.

Weekly Feature & In My Mailbox #97

Happy Sunday!! This past week we've had a lot of fun with the start of our Infernal Devices 31 Days of Clockwork Prince Celebrations! We've posted teasers, a giveaway for a CP charm bracelet made by Hebel Design, a giveaway for a pre-ordered copy of CP, and this weekend we've posted the CP playlist.

This week we're continuing with our CP celebrations, are the next stops in both The Iron Knight blog tour, and Unleashed blog tour, and we'll be chatting with Julia Kagawa!! You can set up a chat reminder here. This chat will be a spoilery chat and we'll be discussing The Iron Knight!

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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, were bloggers share what goodies they received for review, purchased, bought, traded, were gifted etc. Here's what we got this week-

For Review:


* Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, published by Random House, released on November 8th 2011

* The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour, published by Dutton Juvenile, to be released on February 16th, 2011

* Dark Eyes by William Richter, published by Razorbill, to be released on March 15th, 2011

* Truth by Julia Karr, published by Speak, to be released on January 19th, 2012, this is my second ARC to receive, so I included this one in my box of ARCs giveaway

* Unleashed (Wolf Springs Chronicles #1) by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie, published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers, to be released on November 22nd, 2011
-look for my review and author interview to be up this week

* Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez, published by Simon & Schuster, released on October 18th, 2011

* There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff, published by Penguin Group USA, to be released on January 24th, 2012, this also been included in the box of ARCs giveaway

* Ripper by Stefan Petrucha, published by Philomel, to be released on March 1st, 2012

* Radiant Days by Elizabeth Hand, published by Viking Juvenile, to be released on April 12th, 2012

* Neversink by Barry Wolverton, illustrated by Sam Nielson, published by Walden Pond Press, to be released on March 27th, 2012

* Rush by Jeremy Iversen, published by Simon Pulse, released on October 24th, 2011, not pictured

* Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (choose your path book), by Ryan Jacobson & Deb Mercier, published by Lake 7 Creative, released on November 1st, 2011



* Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne, published by Putnam Juvenille, to be released on February 2rd, 2012, it came with a cool brochure about Holbrook Academy & this awesome doll
- I'm planning on doing an ARC tour for this, so look for sign up coming soon

* Eternal Starling by Angie Corbett, published by Pendrell Publishing, to be released on December 6th, 2011, you can read an excerpt here

Swag:
- River Tribe shirt from Lisa T Bergren, I can't wait to wear it!
- Signed post cards from Hunted author D.J. DeSmyter to give away
- Cinder mirror from MacMillian

THANK YOU to:
Penguin, Random House, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, Simon & Schuster, Angie Corbett, Lisa T Bergren, MacMillian, and D.J. DeSmyter

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