Away at a Thespian Conference!

so, I will leave you with a song from the musical I stage managed last month! Gypsy is amazing.



Best high school show I ever did!

Waiting on Wednesday

Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

Release date: May 1, 2012 (HarperCollins)

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. 
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature

Why I Want This:

I read Divergent about two months ago and LOVED it. Oh my goodness! I don't know how I'm going to be able to wait five months! 

Top Ten Books I Am Excited to Read in 2012!

1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth  - DIVERGENT WAS AMAZING!!! And if you can't tell from my review of it, I want my copy of this book NOW! I need to see what happens next!

2. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - Although there is no review up yet, I read this book several months ago and LOVED it. I must reread it again! That cliffhanger just left me on the edge of my seat.

3. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins - I have only read Anna and although I didn't love it, like everyone else seemed to, I have no doubt that Lola was great and this one will be too.

4. Something Like Normal by Trish Doller - FINALLY! A YA book that is about a Marine. I come from a family of Marines and I just can not wait until this book comes out. I've seen fabulous reviews of this book and I need to read it NOW.

5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I love John Green and so I'll read any of his books and when I listened to him read the first chapter of this book, I was in love. Luckily this one comes out soon!

6. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith - I am so jealous of all the people who already have this book. All the reviews are glowing and I can't wait to get my hands on this one!

7. The List by Siobhan Vivian - I've only read one Vivian book (Not That Kind of Girl) and loved it. I'm sure this book will be just as great!

8. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick - The synopsis! Man, I love books like this and it has been a very long time since I read a book like this.

9. Wonder by R. J. Palacio - I can't remember which author it was that wrote a wonderful review of this book but that review sold me on this book. I haven't read a MG book in so long but this one sounds way too amazing to pass up.

10. One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt - Another great sounding MG book! Looks like it will be very moving.

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins (2011), 489 pages

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place her in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

I am awfully glad I picked this book up! I really hadn't heard anything about this book but I was in my school's library and saw that this was one of the new books we had got in and picked it up on whim. I didn't really have any expectations but if I had, DIVERGENT blew all of my expectations out of the water.

Fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and DELIRIUM will LOVE this book. Oh my God. This book is so good that I just completely went through it in a day. The wonderful thing about dystopian novels is the fact that there are so many new and unique plots in them and in Divergent there were several of them to love.

Veronica Roth characterization of Beatrice "Tris" Prior is simply wonderful. In the dystopian Chicago, Roth writes about, there are five different factions the people live in. Abnegation (The Selfless) where Tris is born into, Candor (The Brutally Honest), Amity (The Friendly), Erudite (The Intelligent), and Dauntless (The Brave). When a person reaches age of sixteen, they must choose the faction where they will spend the rest of their life. For the most part, no one dares to leave the faction they were born into but Tris does; she leaves Abnegation for the Dauntless.

Okay, so when I was reading this, I immediately imagined a person who was born into a New York Yankee family switching allegiances and becoming a Boston Red Sox fan. Now, everyone knows that the Sox are obviously the better team to root for and you just can not help but feel sympathy for that person who had to endure those year under the wing of Yankee fans.* And so, as I was reading about Tris' life in Abnegation, I couldn't help but think how much I would hate it. I mean, in theory, that faction sounds wonderful but c'mon! You got to have a little time for yourself, every now and then. I, too, would've changed factions the moment I could.

That's not too say that Dauntless was perfect. But it did have Four! Wow, the parts with Four and Tris were my favorite. And that ending! Jeez. Talk about cliffhanger!!!! I need to get my own copy of this book so I can read it again and so I can see the wonderful cover on my bookshelf everyday. I LOVED THIS BOOK.

I MUST GET MY HANDS ON INSURGENT NOW!!!!!!! MAY 28th IS TOO FAR AWAY!! 

Yes that was necessary.

* Hey, as a diehard Red Sox fan, I just can't help but bring them up every chance I get. Especially if the chance allows for me to call the Yankees out…

Wicked Quote:

Peace is restrained: this is free. 

5 stars out of 5

Cover: B+ I love that most dystopian books tend to be gender neutral and look really cool. 
Favorite Character: Love Tris! Wonderful character, can't wait to find out more about her in the next book. 
Put-Down-Ability: 1 I didn't put it down! 

*Source: school library 

New Year. New Content. New Beginning. AND A GIVEAWAY!

If there was an award for "worst blogger" in the book blog atmosphere, I might receive it due to not having updated in so long. However, I truly have been thinking about this blog and still check other blogs daily. Hell, I even have started several book reviews but I suffer from anxiety and let me just say that senior year + anxiety doesn't exactly allow for things to run a planned.

But my anxiety should calm now a lot because my first semester classes are over and I'll be done with my college applications soon. Although, I guess waiting for the colleges admissions letter to come will be hell (please pray that I get accepted into the colleges!). Anyway, I promise people, I'm back for good.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT WICKED GOOD BOOKS
This year, I will be having a theme for just about every month with a month long giveaway. There isn't a particular theme for January because I feel that I just want to build my blog back up.

JANUARY'S GIVEAWAY

One winner will win $20 worth of books from The Book Depository. 

Yes, it is international! 

TO ENTER:

• Must be a follower of Wicked Good Books 

• Fill out the form, which will give you one entry

You will have the chance to gain extra entries all month. All you need to do is comment on any of my blog posts and I will put in an extra entry for you. You can comment on any and all of my posts for extra entries. If you comment on this post and fill out the form, you already will have 2 entries. 

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The form isn't letting me embed it, so just click the link.

CLICK HERE FOR FORM.